Love Got In The Way Of What Wasn't Meant To Be
by Minxy613
Summary: As a member of the Golden Trio, Daria McVey is meant to be Draco Malfoy's enemy. When they get a glimpse of their future, they have to decide if they will let it define them or if they will fight against it. What will she do if the future shows her what it is she doesn't want to see? Story does not follow books. Rated M for a reason.
1. The one with flying books

Daria McVey sat on her bed looking over her school supplies list for her upcoming year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. She was entering her 6th year and was in the Gryffindor house.

"Daria," she heard her mother call, "Are you ready to go to diagon ally?"

"Yeah. I'll be down in a minute," Daria replied and climbed out of bed.

She checked herself in the mirror. She was an average build, with curly dark red hair that came down to her elbows and emerald green eyes. She tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, slung her bag over her shoulder, and headed downstairs.

"Is that what you're wearing?" Daria's mother asked, turning her nose up at her daughter.

Daria looked down at her holey jeans and fitted band t-shirt. She didn't see any stains.

"No, I just came down here to model what I wasn't planning to wear," she replied sarcastically, "I'll just go back upstairs and put on a formal gown."

Her mother sneered before she grabbed some flew powder and stepped into the fireplace; Daria followed her.

Daria's mother, Fauna, was a pure blood and sometimes (actually all the time) Daria felt like her mother hated having a half blood as a daughter. Her father had been a muggle but he died when she was very young.

Daria decided to go to the bookshop first, heading to the educational section while her mother wandered over to the fiction. She found a promising bookshelf and bent over to scan the bottom shelf.

"Well fancy seeing you here, McVey," she heard a smooth voice say as she glided her finger along the bottom row of books.

Daria stood up and turned towards the shadows, spotting Draco Malfoy leaning up against a shelf smirking at her.

"Do you often lurk around in bookstores? Cause I've got to admit, that's kind of creepy," she asked, raising her eyebrow at him.

"Only on Tuesdays," he replied and stepper closer, choosing a bookshelf closer to her to lean on now. He grabbed a book out of the shelf, tore a page out of the middle, and then put it back.

"It's Saturday you dimwit." She glanced at the shelf for a moment before turning back to him, "You know, you're going to make one of these fall over and I'm going to laugh my bloody ass off when you do."

He sneered at her. "I'm not that heavy," but stood up a little straighter.

"So where's your golden bloody trio today? I figured scar-head would be falling all over himself to carry your books for you," he asked as he looked around for Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

"I haven't seen them," she shrugged, trying not to blush at the thought of Harry wanting to carry her books. "Where's your pug?"

Draco's eyes darted around quickly before he answered, "I lost her at the candy store. I'm hoping she won't look for me here."

"Why? Because she thinks you can't read?" she asked with a smirk.

He glared at her before responding, "No, because I _know_ she can't read."

Daria finally spotted the book she had been looking for and tucked it under her arm along with the three others she already had, "Well Malfoy, as fun as this has been, I've got to get going now. I have other stores to go too and friends to find rather than hide from."

"Do you need any help with those?" he asked, looking down at her armful of books.

She raised her eyebrow, considering his offer.

_There is no way he's nice enough to carry my books for me. _

"Why?" Daria asked, as she searched his eyes suspiciously.

Draco let out an annoyed sigh, "Because they look heavy."

She kept her eyebrow raised but reluctantly handed him her books, "Thanks... I think."

Draco and Daria walked towards the cash register in silence. As they passed the long open staircase going down, she leaned over to admire its beauty. While she was still looking down, she saw something out of the corner of her eye and turned just in time to see all four of her books falling down to the floor below.

Daria shot her eyes up to Draco, who as also leaning over the railing, and smirking wildly as he watched the books hit the ground.

"Whoops," he laughed as he took in her outraged expression.

"You're an asshole," she hissed before she headed down the stairs to collect her books. She could hear him laughing behind her.

She bent over to pick up her first book and heard someone call to her.

"Daria! There you are."

Daria stood up and looked straight into Harry's green eyes. She smiled as he pulled her into an embrace.

"You'd think you hadn't seen me all summer," she chuckled as she hugged him back. She noticed Ron and Hermione were a few feet away and gave them both a hug too.

"We haven't seen you all summer," Hermione replied. "You don't even write."

Daria thought about how her mother hated that she was friends with the boy who lived, a muggle born, and a Weasley; and how her mother had put the family owl under lock and key when she got home, just like every summer.

"Sorry," she shrugged, "I've been busy."

Daria leaned over and began to pick up the rest of her books.

"What happened?" Harry asked, bending over to help.

She glanced back up to the top of the stairs but Draco was long gone.

"I dropped my books over the rail upstairs," she sighed as she stood back up. She went to take the two books Harry had picked up from him but he stopped her.

"Here, I'll carry them for you," he smiled and took the two she had in her arms as well.

"Thanks Harry," she replied with a smile. She hoped he wouldn't notice she was blushing.


	2. The one with the gravel

When Daria got home from Diagon Ally she decided to go to her room but her mother stopped her.

"You'll never guess whom I ran into at Diagon Ally," her mother started cheerful.

Daria paused on the steps and turned toward her slightly, waiting for her to continue.

"Lucius Malfoy," Fauna chirped on, "And he's invited us to a ball at his manor tonight. Doesn't that sound splendid?"

Daria cringed, "Oh yes, that sounds lovely. You have fun."

She quickly started ascending the stairs again.

"Not so fast young lady, you're coming too," Fauna snapped.

Daria let out a sigh as she turned back to her mother, "But mom, you didn't make me go to the one they held last year. Why can't I skip this one too?"

"Last year I think Narcissa got upset that Lucius was so friendly towards me, but I can't help it that I'm charming. If you come I'm sure she won't be so put out by my being there. Besides, you and Draco are friends, right?" she asked with a sly smile.

Daria stared at her in disbelief for a moment.

"Yes, because all my friends make it their life's mission to make my life harder for their own amusement," she quipped.

"Perfect!" Her mother obviously had not paid attention to anything other than Daria's sarcastic 'yes.' "Go put something pretty on, we're leaving in an hour."

Daria growled in annoyance as she trudged up the stairs.

She put on a dark blue strapless gown that had fabric coming together around her waist and a tulle skirt. Her mother lived for these types of events, so they lived like the rich, attending fancy parties and buying extravagant gowns, even though they weren't.

Daria pinned the front of her hair back and let the rest fall freely down her back and shoulders. She touched up the light make up she was already wearing and went downstairs to meet her mother.

Daria stepped into the fireplace, grabbed a handful of flew powder, and threw it down shouting, "Malfoy Manor!"

She was immediately greeted by pounding music in her ears as she stepped out of the fireplace. Her mother stepped out behind her.

Malfoy's father came over to greet them. "Fauna, so lovely to see you again," he stated solemnly, kissing her hand.

He turned his attention to Daria, "Oh and I see you brought you daughter..."

"Daria," she finished for him.

He scowled slightly before continuing, "Ah yes."

He turned back to Fauna, "It's so hard to keep up with all the half bloods running around these days," he joked. He led her over to a group of people and Daria took that as her exit.

She squeezed her way across the dance floor to a wall lined with expensive looking love seats. Most of them were vacant so she took a seat on the furthest one from the dance floor. She dug a large book out of her tiny purse and started reading about Muggle history.

She was lucky to get ten minutes of peace before she was interrupted.

"Having fun?" Daria heard Draco shout over the loud music as he sat down beside her.

She look up from her book only long enough to shoot him a glare; "If you tear a page out of my book I'll shove it down your throat."

He chuckled. "Don't worry, I already have my own copy of," he lifted one side of her book up to read the title, "Muggles Throughout History? Seriously? You're reading that crap in my house?"

"This seems like the best place. I might get a few funny looks if I were to read it in a crowd of muggles," she replied, still trying to focus on her page.

"I hate to be the one to break it to you, but you're getting quite a few of those here," he stated.

Daria noticed he kept looking at something off in the distance so she looked up from her book to follow his line of sight. She spotted her mom and Draco's parents shooting them looks out of their corners of their eyes.

She turned back to Draco and raised an eyebrow; "What do they want?"

"They told me to come ask you to dance," he sighed.

"Do you always do everything daddy tells you too?" she asked, turning her attention back to her book once more.

"Not always," he started, "But I do try to do the little things that make my life easier. I'm sure you can understand that, especially with your mother."

Daria didn't respond but continued pretending to read her book.

"I'll make you a deal," he suggested, "One dance with me and then I'll take you some where quiet so you can read your stupid muggle loving book."

She looked up at him suspiciously, "I don't trust you to keep up your end."

"Do you really want to have to put up with your mom after she finds out you turned down a dance with a Malfoy?" he asked, a smirk playing on his lips.

Daria weighed her options for a moment before she let out a sigh of defeat and closed her book, tucking it back into her purse. Draco's smirk grew as she let him lead her out onto the dance floor.

Draco wrapped his arms around her waist and she placed her hands on his shoulders, trying to keep as much distance from him as possible.

"Come on, you can at least act like you know me," he purred.

Daria huffed but reluctantly wrapped her arms around his neck, narrowing the space between them. She noticed the satisfied smirk on his lips and he began to lead as "We Are Young" by fun. started to play. It was one of Daria's favorite songs but she could hardly enjoy it in this company.

"So did you have a good time at diagon ally today?" he inquired, nonchalantly.

"I guess," she shrugged. "The only downer was when some douchebag threw my books down a flight of stairs."

"Well that sucks. Maybe you should carry your own books from now on," he suggested with a small grin.

Daria decided to ignore his comment. "Did Pansy ever find you?"

"As a matter of fact she did. It was the oddest thing; not five minutes after you left she came into the bookstore looking for me," he responded suspiciously. "It was almost like someone told her I was there."

"Hmm. I don't know why anyone would want to do that," she replied casually.

He snorted but couldn't hide his smirk.

"It's so much more fun when the mouse plays along," he started, "It gets old simply exchanging insults with Potter and Weasley. I should bait you more often."

"You should find a new game to play because I can play a lot dirtier than you," Daria countered as she glowered at him. "You don't want to mess with me."

He smiled as he brought his lips to her ear, "Oh I most definitely do," he whispered, making her hair stand on end at the feel of his hot breath next to her neck.

He pulled his head back and released her, "Come on, I'll take you to that quiet place now."

Daria followed him silently as he led her down a hallway and then outside. She kept her hand tucked into her bag, fingers tightly clutching the handle of her wand. She wasn't quite sure what he'd do but his little psycho spill on the dance floor had her on her toes.

Draco led her down a gravel path to a very large weeping willow covered in tiny hanging lights. He disappeared under its branches and she hesitantly followed him.

Inside the enclosure of vines was a circular bench that went all the way around the outside perimeter.

"Is this quiet enough for you?" he asked as he took a seat on the bench.

Daria looked around and above her head at the beautiful lights and vines. She could vaguely hear the thumping of the bass inside the manor but it was drowned out by the sound of crickets chirping and a nearby stream gently flowing.

This was a significant improvement over what she had imagined Draco's idea of a "quite place" would be. She hadn't been able to decide if he was planning to lure her into his bedroom or drop her into a bottomless pit.

"It'll do," she replied as she sat down on the bench a few feet away from him and pulled out her book.

It occurred to her that Draco was staring at her as she scanned over her page, looking for where she had left off.

Daria brought her eyes up to his face, "Aren't you going to go back inside so you can dance with under dressed, over made up girls with questionable morals and low self-esteem?"

"Nah, it's too noisy in there for me," he shrugged, "Besides I'm finding plenty of enjoyment in aggravating you."

Daria furrowed her eyebrows at him but tried to go back to her book; she didn't get very far though.

"So what's going on between you and Pothead?" he inquired. "Did he ever get up the balls to ask you out?"

She exhaled loudly and closed her book, setting it down beside her. She could tell she wasn't going to get any reading done tonight.

"You know, it doesn't really matter how quiet a place is. If you're in it, the atmosphere is completely shattered," Daria snapped.

He chuckled at her obvious annoyance with him, "You didn't answer the question."

She shot him a glare, "My personal life if none of your business."

"So does that mean he's got into your skirt?" he pressed. He knew just how to get under her skin.

His smirk widened, "I didn't peg you as that kind of girl, but hey I understand. He is the chosen one after all."

Daria didn't want to let him get to her but he knew just what to say to completely infuriate her.

"There's nothing going on between me and Harry you intrusive prick!" she yelled, glaring daggers at him. His smirk faltered slightly, apparently this game wasn't as fun as he thought it would be.

"Daria?" Fauna poked her head in through the wall of vines.

"There you are! Come on, we're going home now," she stated before leaving again.

"Finally!" Daria exclaimed. She went to grab her book.

"Here let me get that," Draco offered, reaching out to pick it up.

Both their hands reached it at the same time and grazed each other in passing. Daria felt a tingle run down her spine at his touch, making her shiver. He quickly withdrew his hand.

"Don't bother," she retorted, picking up her book and shoving it into her bag, "You'd probably just throw it in the pond."

Daria and Draco both stood up at the same time and he pulled aside a section of the branches for her to walk through. She was in such a hurry to get away from him that she didn't even notice that he had intentionally put his foot out in front of her skirt until she collided face first with the gravel path.


	3. The one with the giggling 5th year girls

Daria was still picking gravel out of her palms the next day as she packed for school. The Hogwarts Express was leaving that evening and she abhorred the idea of having to see that audacious little ferret again.

She glared at her suitcase as she packed, trying to come up with a sufficient form of public humiliation to inflict on Draco. She contemplated setting him on fire.

Daria felt the fire burning inside of her as she wondered how anyone could be so callous and apathetic. He seemed to be so inhuman, not caring about anyone or anything. There was no reason for him to be so cruel to her. He may have been destined to hate her solely due to her choice of friends, but she had never done anything to personally insult him. She didn't particularly like him due to how he treated Harry, Ron, and Hermione but occasionally engaged in casual conversation with him, when her friends weren't around for him to berate.

He had never been nice to Daria but to bully and humiliate her was a new low, even for him, and she hated him for it.

She shoved the last of her belongings into her trunk and sat on the lid so she could close it.

* * *

Daria went to King's Cross Station alone and grabbed an empty compartment. Soon Harry joined her, taking the seat across from her.

"Have you seen Ron and Hermione?" he asked as he looked out the window at the platform, which was clear of students.

"I haven't," she replied, "I'm sure they'll show up. They may have just found another compartment."

Daria felt the train start vibrating below her feet as it started moving and she watched out the window as it pulled out of the station. She could hear the hallway slowly growing quieter as latecomers make their way to their compartments, but one voice stood out among the rest and caught her attention.

"Well I have my own private compartment at the end of the train. I'd be more than happy to share it with you lovely ladies." Daria's head immediately shot to the open doorway in time to see Draco pass by, trailed by three giggling 5th year girls. He shot her an over confident smirk before disappeared from her sight.

Daria could feel the adrenaline begin to flow at the sight of him and she instantly decided how she would enact her revenge.

"Harry, I need your invisibility cloak. Now," she stated quickly, before she climbed up on the seat next to him and pulled his bag off the rack.

"What?" he asked, looking perplexed as Daria dug through his suitcase, "Why?"

"Just trust me," she assured him. Her fingers found the smooth fabric of the cloak and she draped it over her shoulders, "You won't regret it."

"I'll be back soon," she called as she pulled the hood over her head and hurried out into the empty hallway.

"Don't get expelled!" she heard Harry call after her with a hint of amusement in his voice, making her smile to herself.

Daria slowed her pace as she neared the end of the train, softening her footfall. She could vaguely hear the giggling of the 5th year girls over the conversations going on in the compartments around her.

She peered inside when she got to the last compartment on the train and spotted Draco. Luckily he had left his door open so she would be able to sneak in undetected.

Daria took a moment to observe him. He was sitting with a girl on each side and one across from him. She was relieved to see that Crab and Goyle were absent, but she was sure they weren't far.

An evil grin found it's way to her lips; this was going to be easier than she could have hoped for.

Daria carefully crept inside and crouched down in front of the vacant window seat next to the lone girl across from Draco who was glaring jealously at her giddy friends.

She slid her wand out of her pocket and pointed it at Draco's leg. She waited for the next wave of giggles to drown out her voice before she muttered the incantation.

A small spot of water appeared on Draco's inner thigh and quickly grew.

The girl nearest the door noticed it first. "Eww! Oh my god!" she shrieked, as she jumped out of her seat, blocking the exit. Daria started yelling very nasty words at the girl inside her head. She needed to get out of this compartment now, before Draco realized what was happening.

He finally noticed the wet spot on his pants and cursed under his breath as the other two girls put on looks of disgust. He glared around the compartment sharply, looking for her.

"That's so gross," one of the other girls sneered and all three of them headed out the door. Draco jumped up to try to stop them.

"Wait! It's not what it looks like," he called after them, "Someone's screwing with me!"

"Damnit," he hissed when he realized they weren't coming back and preformed a drying spell on his pants.

He slowly slid the door closed and calmly turned around to face the inside of the compartment, wand raised. A small smirk hung on his lips but his eyes were menacing

"I know you're in here McVey," he hissed, "So why don't you go ahead and reveal yourself so we can cut to the chase?"

Daria didn't budge.

"Alright then. I've got all evening," his smirk widened as he slid down the door and took a seat on the floor in front of it, twirling his wand idly between his fingers.

"I have got to admit, I did not see that one coming," he started, amusement starting to replace the anger in his eyes. "I hadn't considered you would change the rules and open the doors to public humiliation, but I can see that I've vastly underestimated you."

"I was just having a little fun," he continued innocently, but she could tell it wasn't sincere. "Honestly, I think you are taking it a little too personally. I was merely trying to teach you important life lessons, like to carry your own crap, and watch where you are going. But I guess with Pothead worshiping the very ground you walk on, he'll always be there to catch you and lug your stuff around."

Daria didn't like the idea of Draco talking down to her and not even being able to defend herself. She drew her wand incase he decided to hex her and pulled off Harry's cloak.

"You know, just for a second, I thought you might actually be a decent human being," she hissed. "I guess I was wrong for giving you the benefit of the doubt, even for an instant, that you could actually have some manners. I guess that's what I get for engaging in conversations with an egotistic death eater."

"I am not a death eater," he snapped; his eyes narrowing into slits.

"Not yet, Draco," she growled, "But you will be. You're just like your pathetic excuse for a father."

Draco stood up so he could glare straight into her eyes with his icy blue ones. She couldn't place the feeling behind them. At first all she could see was his anger, but the longer his eyes bore into hers, the more dejected they appeared.

Daria kept her wand pointed at his chest but he didn't bother to raise his. She was beginning to grow fearful, despite being the armed one. She could tell her comment had cut deep, but she wasn't sure why. She knew Draco wasn't fond of his father, but for him to be so vexed by her comment was not what she had anticipated.

After a long moment he finally spoke, but his voice was so vindictive that it was barely more than a whisper, "I will never be like my father."

His response caught her off guard. She had expected him to yell at her for insulting his father and perhaps call her a few dirty names because of her blood.

Wordlessly he turned to open the door and motioned her out with his hand. She picked up the invisibility cloak and complied, still thrown by his response. As soon as she was out the door she heard him slam it closed behind her.


	4. The one with crazy people

**A/N: Hey readers. I'm not sure how many readers from quizilla I have here but I've decided to combine this story with my other unfinished story "Only Time Can Tell." Rest assured, the plot will not be changed since the two stories have very different plots but I'd hate to let some of the banter go to waste on a story I don't plan to finish. So if any of the conversations in the next several chapters seem familiar don't fret, the general story line will remain the same (except for all the changes I'm already making by revising it =X) I hope you enjoy and be sure to leave reviews. Love, Minxy**

Daria walked down the train's hallway, with Harry's cloak draped over her arm, back towards the front of the train where her own compartment was located.

"Getting into trouble early this year, Daria?" she heard a dreamy voice ask and she turned towards the open compartment to her left to see Luna Lovegood sitting alone, reading a copy of the Quibbler.

Daria reluctantly stopped to answer her. Despite being one of Harry's friends, Daria had never been a big fan of Luna Lovegood. She seemed like a decent person, but she was far too quirky for Daria's tastes. Plus Luna always seemed to be one step ahead of her, which is not a quality Daria looked for in friends, hence her passionate loathing for Draco Malfoy. If he wasn't able to get her to lower her guard before he was mean to her, she might not be so bitter.

"What makes you think that?" Daria asked, raising an eyebrow and feigning an innocent look.

"You mean you haven't noticed?" Luna asked, finally looking up at her with a shocked expression, "I'm afraid that nargles have stolen your left arm."

Daria glanced down at her left arm, which appeared to be missing under the effects of the invisibility cloak.

Daria shook her head in disbelief before answering. "Oh no, Luna. It's just Harry's invisibility cloak, see?" She picked up the cloak with her right hand so her arm was now visibly.

Luna stared doubtfully at her for a moment before turning back to her upside down Quibbler, "Whatever you say Daria, but now they seem to have stolen your right hand."

Daria sighed before deciding to give up on explaining and started back down the hallway.

When she opened the door to her and Harry's compartment, she noticed two extra heads, one covered in firey red hair and the other in bushy brown hair. She smiled at Ron and Hermione as she entered.

"Look who I found," Harry smiled, gesturing to Ron and Hermione, "I guess you didn't get caught then? Seeing as you're still on the train and not expelled."

"Oh I did," Daria sighed, handing him the cloak and taking the seat next to Hermione, "Just not by a teacher."

Hermione gave the cloak a hard look before turning to scold her, "What were you thinking? We aren't even at school yet and you are already trying to get into trouble?"

"Just trying to make Malfoy's life as much of a hell as he makes mine," Daria replied with an innocent shrug, making Harry smirk.

"That's my girl," he beamed after he stuffed his cloak back into his bag.

"What'd you do to the pathetic git?" Ron asked excitedly, leaning forward so he wouldn't miss any details. Hermione shot him a glare for encouraging her.

Daria recounted the tale to them, leaving out most of her conversation with Draco. Harry and Ron listened intently with goofy grins while Hemione pouted to herself.

"I bet he's going to have a hard time getting a date this semester," Harry chuckled, trying to visual the scene.

"You're going to get expelled this year, I just know it," Hermione growled, her arms still crossed over her chest.

"You say that every year," Daria laughed, "And I'm still here aren't I?"

"What if Malfoy tells a teacher about you using the cloak, hm?" she asked with a serious tone.

"Trust me, I doubt he'll be telling _anyone_ about this," Ron chortled, bringing on a new round of giggles from everyone but Hermione.

After awhile the excitement of Malfoy's embarrassing incident died down and the topic changed, much to Hermione's relief. She hated that Ron, Harry, and especially Daria were always getting into trouble.

"So Daria, you planning on playing this year? I already have to replace enough people on the team, I'd hate to have to replace my best chaser as well," Harry asked, trying to sound casual.

Daria smiled, blushing slightly at Harry's compliment, "Oh please, I'm not nearly the best. Katie Bell could kick my ass any day."

"Katie? Oh come on. You could fly circles around her. I bet your score at least twice as many goals each game," Harry bragged with a cheesy grin on his face.

"Harry, you flatter me," she grinned, turning a deep shade of crimson. "I'm more interested in if Ron is planning to play though," she suggested, trying to remove the focus from herself.

"I don't know," Ron shrugged, "I heard that prick, McLaggen, is going to try out for keeper too, so I don't think I really have a chance."

"Oh of course you do Ronald," Hermione interjected, finally deciding to participate in the conversation, "Cormac is without. He doesn't stand a chance against you."

Ron's face flushed pink as he muttered something incomprehensible. Harry and Daria exchanged a knowing smile.

Before long the train arrived at Hogwarts and the four of them climbed into a carriage already occupied by Luna.

"Oh hello Harry, Hermione, and Ron," she smiled dreamily. They all greeted her in return.

"Daria, I see you've found all your appendages," Luna stated excitedly as she looked Daria over.

Harry raised his eyebrow at Daria but she just shook her head, warning him not to ask.

The short carriage ride up to the castle passed in silence, aside from an occasional crazy remark from Luna about something she had read in the Quibbler.

Daria took a seat in the Great Hall next to Ron; Harry and Hermione sat across from them.

"So what's our next form of attack?" Ron whispered in her ear, gesturing towards the Slytherin table while Hermione was busy talking to Luna.

"I don't know mate. Honestly, I think my little prank left enough of an impression to get him to back off for a while," she lied as she felt her stomach flip uneasily. Her stunt wasn't going to keep Draco away; in fact, it would probably provoke a swift retaliation. Planning another prank would be catastrophic. She was actually a little scared as to what Draco might do next.

She remembered the look in his eyes on the train and nervously glanced over at the Slytherin table to find a pair of icy blue eyes glaring at her.


	5. The one with the happy Slytherin

**A/N: I've decided to switch this story to third person instead of first person, the other parts have already been edited. It might take a little getting used to but I hope you enjoy it.**

Daria groggily took a seat at the Gryffindor table amongst her friends and grabbed a piece of toast. She decided to lay her head down on the table while she nibbled at the bread, not bothering to put any butter or jam on it.

"Morning sunshine," Ron chuckled at the sight of her.

She growled in return before she lifted her head slightly to look at him, "Why are you so chipper this morning?"

"Me?" he asked cheerfully, "Last night was the best nights sleep I've had in months. You have no idea how noisy it is in my house. Why are you so tired?"

Daria raised her eyebrow at him as she glanced around at her other friends. Hermione was struggling to keep her eyes open as she poured over a large book and Harry had dozed off with his head propped up against his hand.

"Because us normal people are used to staying up late at night and sleeping in during the summer," Daria grumbled tiredly before she rested her head back onto the table to continue eating her toast.

"Not me," Hermione piped in, suppressing a yawn, "I've been maintaining a school like sleep schedule all summer. But I was up late last night preparing for today's classes. I wanted to get a head start and read all the semester's material."

Daria and Ron both rolled their eyes before sharing a grin.

Daria considered Ron to be her best friend. She had met him first and they had met Harry and Hermione together. If not for him, she wasn't sure if she would have befriended them on her own. She related to Ron the most, they both had similar senses of humor. Even though she was a straight O and E student with a knack for trouble, Hermione and Harry never really understood her like he did.

"Oi Hermione," Ron exclaimed, "We haven't even gotten our schedules yet and you're already prepared for exams."

"Ah here they come now," Hermione smiled as a prefect handed her her schedule, choosing to ignore Ron.

Daria sat up again to accept her schedule and glanced over it.

"Ugh!" she groaned, "Who's idea was it to put me in Binn's class first period. Cause I'm not having a hard enough time staying awake."

"Tell me about it," Harry agreed, startling Daria since she wasn't aware he'd woken up.

"I'm in that class too," Ron moaned.

"I think it will fun," Hermione retorted, "At least we know we all have one class together."

"What else do you have Daria?" Harry asked as he glanced over his own schedule.

"Divination, Care of Magical Creatures, and Potions," she replied and watched as all her friend's faces fell.

"I don't have any of those," Harry stated. Ron and Hermione both shook their heads indicating they didn't have them either.

Daria sighed to herself and started peeling herself an orange as the others figured out if they had any classes together.

She glanced around the Great Hall and met a pair of chilling blue eyes. Draco was staring right at her, a mischievous smirk hanging on his lips. His arm was draped around Pansy Parkinson's shoulders, but she was talking animatedly to a girl next to her and didn't notice his eyes were fixed on the Gryffindor table.

Daria felt her stomach do a summersault and couldn't tear her eyes away from his. Instead she raised an eyebrow curiously, wondering what he could be thinking. He was the first to break the gaze as he turned, still smirking, to talk to Crabbe.

Daria finally tore herself away from his face and remembered the orange she had been in the process of peeling. She suddenly second guessed herself and set the orange down, afraid that Malfoy might have poisoned it.

Realizing what time it was she quickly gathered up her things and headed towards History of Magic with her three best friends.

* * *

"Miss McVey, thank you for joining us," Professor Trelawney smiled as Daria walked into Divination fifteen minutes late, "Please take a seat, we were just enjoying some tea so that we can make some tea leaf predictions."

That was one thing she loved about Professor Trelawney, she never cared if anyone was actually on time for her class.

Daria looked around the room but only saw one open seat next to a Slytherin. She sighed and headed up to his table.

He smiled at her as she sat down, "Great timing! I was afraid I was going to have to read my own tea leaves," he beamed, "I'm Blaise Zabini."

"Daria McVey," She replied, giving him a half smile. A look of vague recognition registered across his face at her name but he dismissed it, unable to place it.

"Pleased to meet you," he grinned, shaking her hand.

_I don't think I've ever met a happy Slytherin before,_ she thought as she started sipping her tea.

"So what other classes do you have this term?" he asked, casually try to keep the conversation going.

"Well I just came from History of Magic, next I have Care of Magical Creatures, then Potions," she replied.

"No way," he beamed, "I have COMC and Potions next too."

Daria raised her eyebrow, unsure whether this was good news or not, "I didn't know there were any Slytherin in COMC." She thought back to third year when Malfoy had pissed off a hippogriff and suppressed a smirk at the memory.

He shrugged, "I don't always follow the status quo."

"So what social circle are you in?" he asked, "I've heard your name before but I just can't place it."

"Oh, um, well my three best friends are Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley," she replied, avoiding eye contact since these three names usually left a bad taste in Slytherins' mouths.

His smile faded, "Oh."

"What about you?" she asked, curiously, still avoiding his eyes as she focused intently on her tea.

"I'm in Malfoy's gang," he replied, glaring into his tea.

"Oh…" Daria replied grimly before taking another sip of her tea.

They finished their tea in silence.

"Alright everyone, take your partner's teacup and make a prediction using the leafs," Professor Trelawney announced excitedly, "References are on page one hundred seventy nine."

Blaise and Daria switched teacups and started comparing them with the pictures in their books.

"Well yours has a kind of funny looking "x" which means mistake, but there is also a sun, which means happiness. So…" Blaise stated, "You are going to make a mistake, but you're going to be happy about it."

Daria raised her eyebrow, "Why would I be happy about a mistake?"

"Well maybe you think it's a mistake but it turns out to be a good thing?" Blaise suggested, "You got me. I'm just going by what the teacup claims."

"What does mine say?" he asked, leaning over trying to get a look.

"Well the only shape I can distinguish is a heart, which of course means love," she replied, "So I take it either you are about to fall in love or already have."

He smiled, "Now that sounds like a good future. If only it told me who it was and if the feeling was mutual."


	6. The one where Daria is sweaty

Daria strode onto the quidditch pitch to join the rest of her team for their first practice of the year now that try outs were over. Joining her and Katie Bell as chasers was Ginny Weasley. Ron had made keeper and was already positioned in front of the hoops, looking slightly scared.

"Oi McVey," Harry called from his position in the air as he began to descend towards her, "Can't you ever be on time?"

He landed in front of her and climbed off his broom with an amused grin.

"Sorry mate, my watch is slow," she replied smiling slyly as she tapped the face of her watch.

"Yeah that was your excuse last year too," he chuckled, "I think it's about time you got a new one."

"But then I wouldn't have an excuse for being late anymore," she teased and ruffled his hair playfully, making a faint blush rise in his cheek as he shoved her arm playful.

"Get your ass in the air, before I decide to kick you off the team," he laughed before he climbed back onto his broom.

"You can't do that," she called back, "I thought I was your best chaser!"

Ginny and Katie both shot her a glare and she tried to tame her grin before she mounted her broom and ascended towards the other two girls.

"Let's see if you can get it past Ron," Ginny suggested, tossing Daria the quaffle.

Daria smirked as she looked over at Ron who looked like someone had just shot a spell towards him. She let a chuckle escape her lips before she sped off towards him, with Ginny and Katie on her heels to try to block her.

Ginny managed to fly up beside her and was about to swerve into her, but Daria quickly dropped down before doing a loop-de-loop and shooting right back up towards the goals.

She smiled to herself as she went for the highest hoop and Ron quickly went to block it before she flipped upside down and shot the quaffle through the bottom hoop.

Katie and Ginny finally caught up to her and Ron tossed the quaffle to Katie.

"That was wicked, Daria!" Ron yelled over the roar of the wind, "I'm glad I'm not the other team's keeper."

"Thanks Ron," Daria grinned before she turned back to the other girls who looked rather resentful.

"We need to show Ginny our plays," Katie suggested and Daria nodded her head in agreement before Katie started explaining some of the most common Gryffindor plays to Ginny.

After about an hour Ginny had learned three of their plays and she was looking very promising.

"Potter!" A voice called from the ground and the whole team turned to see who it was.

The Slytherin team was marching onto the field, brooms in hand.

"You're time was up five minutes ago," Draco shouted up at Harry, "This is Slytherin's time to practice."

Daria glanced back at Harry who seemed to be debating whether or not he wanted to get into it with Malfoy today or not. After a moment he must have decided it wasn't worth it because he shouted, "Good practice guys. You can head for the showers now," before he descended towards the Slytherin team.

Daria followed a few feet behind him as he strode over to Draco, "All yours Malfoy," he stated, his face hard in a glare.

"Next time try to get your pitiful team off the field before we're here," Draco hissed, returning the glare.

Sensing an impending quarrel, Daria quickly stepped in as she approached Harry's side. "Sorry about that Malfoy. You see my watch here is a little slow and seeing as I'm the only one on the team who wears one we never know what time it actually is," she explained lightly. "Come on Harry."

"Got to have your girlfriend fight your battles for you, eh Potter?" Draco smirked, making his team chuckle, "Or is she Weaselbee's girlfriend now? I can never keep up."

Daria seriously considered hexing him but instead she grabbed Harry's arm incase he had the same idea.

"Can it Malfoy," Daria snapped, "The pitch is yours so go bugger off."

Draco turned his full attention towards her for the first time during this little clash and looked her straight in the eye with a smirk playing on his lips. She continued to glower at him despite the gymnastics her insides were doing as his icy eyes bore into hers.

"I must say MeVey," he started as his smirk widened, "You do look rather enticing when you are all sweaty and worked up. Perhaps you should keep this look up, only without the uniform. I'd be happy to assist with that."

A roar of "oooo" came from the other Slytherin guys as they were no doubt, now imagining her naked.

Before Daria could even react, Harry's wand was at Malfoy's throat.

"Don't you ever talk about her like that again or I'll hex you half way to Germany," he spat, pressing his wand harder against Draco's neck.

"Touchy," Draco smirked, raising his arms slightly in surrender, "I was merely making an observation, no need to chastise me."

"Come on Harry," Daria insisted, pulling his wand arm away from Draco, "He's not worth it."

Harry slowly pocketed his wand, still scowling at Malfoy. Daria was able to lead him toward the locker rooms as he broke his staring contest with Draco and the members of the Slytherin team began to kick off into the air. Blaise gave Daria a sympathetic smile as he passed her.

* * *

"What a smug little git," Harry grumbled after Daria and him had changed out of their quidditch uniforms and were headed back towards the castle, "I can't believe he said that to you."

"He was just trying to be cheeky around his friends," Daria shrugged, trying not to let Draco get to her anymore than he already did on a daily basis, "He has to keep up the pretenses that he's a nymphomaniac lest they find out that no one beside's Parkinson would ever hook up with him."

Harry rolled his eyes at how easy it was for Daria to write off Malfoy's statement but couldn't hide the small smile that crept onto his lips at the thought of Malfoy not being as lucky as he led people to believe.

"Besides, he's a tool," she continued, "He's just jealous because he knows he'll never be half the man you are."

"Oh?" Harry pressed as he raised his eyebrow, his smile growing.

Daria could feel the warmth in her cheeks as he stared at her expectedly.

"Oh yeah," she reassured, intentionally not meeting his gaze as they continued walking, "You could have any girl you wanted."

"You think so?"

"Oh I know so," she smiled, as her cheeks grew even redder before they entered the Gryffindor common room and headed up to their separate dorms.


	7. The one with Harry's disappearing house

"Hey Daria," Blaise greeted as she sat down beside him in divinations.

"Morning Blaise," she smiled.

"Hey sorry about yesterday," he started, "Malfoy can be a real prick. He should have just stuck to Potter."

"No it's ok," Daria shrugged, "I'd rather he picked on me than Harry anyways, I'm the one he's trying to get back at after all."

"What'd you do to him?" Blaise raised an eyebrow, "I didn't think you were really part of the rivalry. He usually leaves you out of his stand offs with the golden trio."

Daria paused to absorb this information. She thought it had all been in her head, but Blaise had noticed too. Before this year Draco did usually leave her out of it. Even when she shot hateful or sarcastic comments his way for insulting her friends he would ignore her or at the most say something about her blood status. Being mean to her was completely new to him.

"He started it," she defended, "But I think I might have taken it a tad too far."

Blaise listened intently as she recounted the incident on the train to him and he nearly fell out of his chair laughing.

"Oh I would have loved to has seen his face," Blaise stated, wiping a tear from the corner of his eye, "I've been wondering why he's been surrounded by fewer girls."

Daria smirked at this news, but felt her heart drop as she realized that her little stunt probably pissed Draco off more than she had realized. She again felt the fear of what he was planning to do to get back at her in the pit of her stomach

"Well whatever he did, I'm sure he deserved it," Blaise continued as he regained his composer.

"Oh he most definitely did," Daria responded tensely as she rubbed her palms that were still healing from the rocks she had fallen on.

"Today we will be working with our crystal balls," Professor Trelawney announced as she enter the classroom, "We're going to predict tomorrow's weather, and also see if any of you are going to die a slow and painful death."

* * *

Daria took a seat at the Gryffindor table across from Ron and looked around for Harry.

"He's not here yet," Ron stated, not bothering to look up from his food.

Daria raised an eyebrow, "Who's not?

Ron smirked up at her, "Oh please, don't play dumb. You're looking for Harry. You two got back from practice awfully late last night."

Daria sighed at his assumption, "It's not what you think. We got into it with the Slytherin team after practice. You were great by the way."

Ron grinned, "Ya think?"

"Oh yeah! We'll kick Slytherin's butt in a few weeks," Daria smiled back.

She pilled some turkey and potatoes onto her plate before she continued, "So did you ask Granger to the Halloween Dance yet?"

Ron turned a deep shade of pink before he mumbled, "No, not yet."

"Well you need to get a move on then," Daria scolded, "It's coming up soon."

"What about you? Who are you going with?" Ron asked, trying to remove the focus from himself.

"I don't know," she shrugged, suddenly very interested in her fork.

"Do you think Harry will ask you?" Ron probed.

"How should I know?" she scowled, "You're his best friend, so you tell me."

"Tell you what?" Harry asked as he took a seat next to Daria.

"When he's going to ask Hermione to the dance," Daria quickly lied.

"You haven't asked her yet?" Harry asked, wide eyed, "Come one man. This isn't fourth year. You should be able to ask a girl to a dance."

Ron shot him a glare, "Oh yeah? And who are you going with Harry?" he countered.

"No one yet, but you can bet I will ask someone, once I get around to it," Harry replied.

"Well Daria doesn't have a date either so I don't want to hear anything from you two, you bloody hypocrites," Ron grumbled as Hermione finally entered the Great Hall and sat down next to him.

"Hey, I'm not very hungry," Daria started, grabbing her bag, "Plus I have to make a tricky potion tomorrow so I'm going to head up to the library to study." She also wanted to give Ron and Hermione some alone time incase Ron worked up the nerve to ask Hermione out.

"Mind if I come too? I have a big charms test tomorrow," Harry asked with a wink, realizing what she was trying to do.

Daria smiled, "Sure Harry."

He smiled back and they walked side-by-side out of the great hall, as they left they could hear Ron start sputtering.

* * *

"Ugh I dread charms. How in the world am I supposed to make a house disappear?" Harry puzzled as he flipped through one of the dozens of charms books in front of him.

"You got me," Daria sighed, "I have to figure out how to add pixie wings, toad's breath, ghoul fang, centaur fur, and dragon's tongue simultaneously. That's five ingredients and last time I checked none of the students in my potions class had three hands."

"Maybe you could use a spell to turn your lab partner into an octopus?" Harry suggested, making her chuckle, "I'll be right back, I'm going to go grab another book."

Harry got up from his chair and disappeared behind a row of bookshelves. Daria looked around at the eight other books Harry already had on the table and smiled to herself while she shook her head.

"You have to combine the pixie wings and centaur fur separately, they are the only ingredients that won't bleed into each other on contact, then you only have four ingredients to add," Malfoy mutter from the table next to her making her jump in surprise, having not noticed he was there.

"Oh?" Daria started, raising an eyebrow, "And how do you know?"

"You're not the only one in potions who knows how to read," he sneered. He still hadn't bothered to look up at her and was flipping through a rather large dusty book.

Daria stared at him dumbfounded for a moment before she spoke, "What are you like bi-polar? One minute you are being a dick and the next you are helping me. What is with you?"

"I was merely answering your question," he shrugged. He finally brought his eyes up to look coldy into hers, "I figured it doesn't really matter anyways since we're partnered together on this potion."

"No, I'm partnered with Goyle," Daria corrected, shuttering as she remembered how he'd made their last potion blow up.

Draco shook his head, "Snape's reassigning seats tomorrow. Zabini got a hold of his lesson plan."

"Oh goody," Daria huffed, rolling her eyes. She caught a flicker of amusement flash across Draco's eyes before he quickly broke eye contact and closed his book.

"See you in potions, McVey," he retorted before he strutted out of the library.

Daria's eyes followed his back as he left and she didn't even notice Harry had sat back down beside her until he spoke.

"So what kind of potion do you have to make tomorrow?" Harry asked casually.

"It's a visions potions," Daria answered, "It shows you a vision of the future, usually one involving both potion makers in this case. It's all subjective, of course, the future is always changing."

"Hmm, that sounds interesting," Harry replied curiously, "I wonder what yours will show you. I couldn't imagine there being anything interesting in your and Goyle's future."

Daria answered him with a half smile. Wanting to change the subject, she picked up one of the many charms books in front of her, "How about we try to figure out how to get rid of that pesky house of yours. Huh?"


	8. The one with a kiss by the lake

It was midnight by the time Harry and Daria figured out how to make a house disappear. Of course it hadn't helped that they kept getting distracted and playing paper quidditch.

"Well since it's so late already, do want to go for a walk by the lake? We could look at the stars," Harry suggested and Daria agreed. They gathered up their stuff and walked out of the library, which they had been able to stay in after closing due to the invisibility cloak.

"You know how constellations are like pictures made out of stars?" Daria asked, as her and Harry lied in the grass looking up at the night sky.

"Yeah," Harry answered.

"Well you would think in the wizarding world that the constellations would move around," she continued, "Like Taurus should be bucking around, O'Ryan should be shooting an arrow, and Scorpio should be slithering around."

"That's a really good idea, I wonder if there is a spell to make them do that," Harry pondered.

"We could always go back to the library and research it," Daria joked, making Harry give her a dreadful look.

"Don't even joke about that, I don't think I ever want to set foot in that room again," he replied, making her chuckle.

She stopped when she noticed that he was staring at her intently. She looked into his gorgeous green eyes with her emerald ones and noticed that they were coming towards her.

Daria closed her eyes as his lips brushed against hers. She felt tingles run down her spine as she kissed him back. He ran his hand through her hair and pulled her closer to him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he ran his tongue along her lower lip. She shivered pleasantly and was just about to open her mouth to let him in when they were splashed by a large wave.

They both jumped up as the sea monster growled angrily. It was thrashing around, making all kinds of waves. They both stared at it for a minute in confusion before turning back to the other.

"We should probably head back up to the dorms," Harry stated nervously as Daria wrung out her hair. She nodded her head in agreement and they walked to the Gryffindor common room together in silence.

* * *

"Why do you gotta do shit like that?" Blaise asked as Draco watched out the dormitory window with a smirk.

"Do what?" Draco asked, faking a look of innocence.

"Be a total prat," Blaise snapped, "There was no need to send that spell at the lake monster."

"It is way too late for students to be outside of their dorms," Draco replied, still trying to look innocent but he was failing at hiding his smirk, "Besides, it brings me immense joy to torture my two least favorite people."

* * *

Daria's alarm started screeching loudly in her ear. She groaned in annoyance and opened one heavy eyelid to look at it. It was flashing 7:00 am.

She sighed as she turned it off and reluctantly sat up, grabbed her school robes, and staggered into the bathroom.

She shivered as the hot water hit her cold skin and stood under the water stream for a minute, letting the water warm her.

She thought back to last night and ran her fingers across her lips, imagining Harry's lips on them.

She showered quickly and got dressed before she started applying some light make up.

"You were out late last night," Hermione stated as she claimed the sink next to Daria and started brushing out her frizzy hair.

"Yeah, Harry and I were in the library late studying," Daria replied but couldn't hide the smile that was plastered to her face.

"Oh?" Hermione pried, "Anything interesting happen?"

Daria's smile grew, "He kissed me."

Hermione's jaw nearly hit the ground, "No way! Really? What happened next?"

Daria shrugged, "Well the monster in the lake decided to have a bitch fit and hosed us off, so we came back to the common room."

"So he didn't ask you out then?" Hermione asked, looking slightly disappointed.

Daria shook her head, "Hopefully I'll get to talk to him before History of Magic. Find out what this means."

"What about you and carrot top? Any new development?" Daria asked, remembering her conversation with Ron last night at dinner.

Hermione blushed, "I ended up asking him to the dance."

"Good for you," Daria beamed, "You two are so cute together."

Hermione and Daria walked down to the great hall together, still chatting and giggling about boys. They both stopped as they entered and tried to compose themselves as Daria took a seat next to Harry. Hermione took the one across from her next to Ron. Ron was stuffing his face with pancakes and Harry was lazily poking at his eggs with a fork.

"Morning, Harry, Ron," Daria greeted as she stacked some pancakes onto her own plate.

Ron grunted in acknowledgement and Harry smiled up at her, "Morning, did you ladies sleep well?"

"Yes very," Hermione replied cheerfully. "Oh Harry, did Ron tell you that he finally got a date to the dance?"

"Yeah, Ron told me all about it," Harry grinned. "Oh that reminds me, Daria, I was thinking..."

Ron and Hermione both leaned forward with excited expressions. Harry noticed and shot them a glare, "Are either of you two named Daria?"

They both turned red and turned intently back to their plates.

"Oh?" Daria encouraged, "About what?"

"Well if by some miracle you don't already have a date to Hogsmeade this weekend, I'd love it if you'd go with me," he smiled, "And then if I don't make too much of a fool of myself there, maybe we could go to the dance together too."

Daria beamed at him, "I'd like that Harry."

"Great!" Harry's grin grew.

"About damn time," Ron grumbled, still stuffing pancakes down he throat.

"Oh hush," Daria snapped, "You didn't even ask Hermione."

Harry walked Daria to History of Magic with Ron and Hermione. As they looked for a place to sit Daria noticed Blaise sitting in the back row with Malfoy and shot him a subtle wave. He grinned and waved back before she took a seat between Harry and Ron. Harry casually draped his arm around the back of her chair. She felt her heart flutter in her chest as his hand grazed her shoulder and tried not to blush.


	9. The one with the vision potion

**A/N: I'd love to hear what all of my readers think of the story so far so please leave a review =)**

Daria dragged her feet as she and Blaise walked down to the potions classroom.

"So who is Snape going to pair you with today?" Daria asked casually. He raised his eyebrow in confusion so she added, "Malfoy told me about you two getting the lesson plan yesterday."

This statement only caused him to look more bewildered, "Why would he do that? I thought the two of you were at war."

Daria shrugged, "Got me. He's either very forgetful or completely mental."

"Oh he's a total schizo, alright," Blaise sighed as an amused smile spread across his face.

"So are you going to tell me who you are working with?" Daria asked, not really wanting to discuss Malfoy's lunacy right now.

"Pansy Parkinson," Blaise grumbled and shuttered dramatically making Daria laugh.

They entered potions and parted, Blaise sitting next to his partner Parvati Patil and Daria next to Goyle.

A few minutes later, Snape strutted in and the room fell silent, "Today we shall be making postremo potion. Which simply means this potion will show you the future. Now this particular potion is rather mild and will only show you a brief, usually inconsequential vision upon looking into it. Since you shall be working in groups of two, it will show a vision involving both of you. In a moment you may all come forward and get your ingredients but first, we will be changing seats."

A collective groan echoed through the classroom, making Snape smirk wildly, obviously very proud of himself.

"Silence!" he snapped as he pulled out a scroll with the new seating list and everyone began gathering up their stuff.

He started with the back row, "Malfoy and McVey."

_Of course, teacher's pet always gets the best seat._

Daria wasn't sure if she should be grateful that her and Draco were in the back or worried, but silently made her way to the back where Draco was already sitting. Snape looked momentarily disappointed at not getting a reaction from her but continued down the list.

"Zabini and Parkinson."

Daria was again hit by mixed feelings: excitement at sitting next to Blaise and disgust at Pansy being just two seats down from her. Blaise grinned and took the seat next to her.

Snape continued down the list until the entire class was seated and mumbling complaints.

"You may have noticed that this time I have partnered each of you with someone who is at the same grade level as you," Snape started.

_I guess his first experiment of partnering the good students and the bad students failed miserably._ Daria cringed as she remembered all the potions Goyle had screwed up.

"These will be your seats for the rest of the year," Snape continued, "And I expect the average grades in this class to go up. Now everyone get to work."

Daria went up and got the supplies and her and Draco worked in complete silence, each doing half the work. She immensely enjoyed this after working with Goyle, who made fun of her blood the whole time and didn't do anything useful.

Draco mixed the centaur fur and pixie wings and wordlessly handed Daria the toad's breath and dragon tongue to add and the potion was complete.

Daria looked around to see they were some of the first one's finished so she leaned back in her chair and waited, crossing her arms over her chest. She glanced over at Draco to see him in a similar state.

She people watched for a few minutes, lingering on Neville and Millicent Bulstrode as they argued over how to add the last five ingredients, before finally deciding to break the silence.

"So what do you think the potion will show us?" she asked coolly, only glimpsing him for a second to make sure he hadn't fallen asleep.

"Probably me kicking your ass at the upcoming quidditch match," Draco replied haughtily. Daria rolled her eyes at him and the silence resumed.

Snape came around the room and inspected all the potions before he instructed the class to test them.

"Both partners need to lean in together or the potion won't recognize both of you," Snape explained, "So just lean your faces down over the potion and it will show you your future."

Daria and Draco exchanged a wordless glace at each other before they leaned forward together. The potion sucked them both in like a pensieve and pulled them into a foggy dreamlike astronomy tower. They stood together over to the side and Daria noticed a foggy Draco standing close by, staring out a window at the night sky. She pointed him out to the real Draco and they both watched him curiously for a minute. He was idly messing with his sleeve cuffs and kept checking his watch impatiently.

"What do you think I'm waiting on?" Draco asked as he continued to watch the vision on himself.

Daria shrugged in reply. She was desperately trying to figure out what this had to do with her.

Suddenly the door to the astronomy tower busted open to revile a frazzled looking Daria. She was panting slightly as if she had been running but smoothed down her shirt and tried to compose herself before she strolled over to the Draco.

"You're late," Draco smirked as Daria entered the astronomy tower, "Are you ever on time for anything?"

"Sometimes, when there is food involved," Daria shrugged as she approached him, stopping much closer to him than she would ever dream of being. "Filch caught a glimpse of me but I managed to lose him."

Draco shook his head at her in amusement before looking into her eyes and assumed a serious expression again.

"I've missed you," he sighed as he tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, taking her in with his eyes. "It's been days since I last saw you."

"Oh?" Daria asked slyly, "What did you miss most?"

"I think you know," he grinned, as his eyes fell on her lips.

She bit her bottom lip before stealing his smirk, "You mean this?"

Daria wrapped her fingers around his tie and pulled his face closer to hers before she tenderly brushed her lips against his.

He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close, deepening the kiss.

The real Draco and Daria exchanged a look of horror before they felt themselves being sucked out of the vision and back to the present.

Daria suddenly found herself staring into an empty cauldron and sitting in the potions classroom, the look of horror still plastered on her face.

Snape was yelling at a smoking Millicent and Neville, their potion on fire.

Daria nervously moved her eyes to Draco's face, which wore a look of fright. He looked like someone was about to turn him into a ferret again.

She tried to think of something to say but wasn't quite sure what to say to someone who had just watched you snog him.

"Class dismissed!" Snape announced and Draco was out the door before she had even left her seat.


	10. The one with the ring

Daria sat in the Great Hall, listening to her friends chat idly around her. But to her it was just static as she stared off into space, deep in concentration. She could not stop the vision from paying over and over again through her mind.

She kept repeating to herself that the future was relative, that she could change her future and never look at Malfoy with those big doe eyes, the way she had in the vision, but so far the words hadn't reassured her.

She felt like her future self must have been much dumber that she currently was or completely insane. In what world would Daria ever believe that Draco could care about anyone, especially her, and she could care for him too? It was ludicrous!

Malfoy must have been using her. Drawing her in with affection only to break her heart. Her future self was a moron for not seeing that and Daria hated Draco more at that moment than she ever had in her life.

Then there was something about the way Draco had looked at her and how desperate he sounded when he said he had missed her. Daria shook it off, attributing it to good acting, but his eyes, filled with longing, continued to bear into her soul.

"Do you reckon she's completely lost it?" Ron asked as him, Harry, and Hermione watched Daria glare at the potato salad for five minutes.

"Maybe she'll ill, she hasn't even touched her dinner," Hermione suggested. "Daria, sweetheart, are you alright?"

Daria didn't respond so Harry started waving his hand in front of her face, "Daria, is everything okay?"

Daria finally broke out of her trance and shot her head up towards her three friends, "What?"

"Are you ok?" Harry repeated, looking into her eyes worriedly.

Daria quickly shook her head as the image of Draco's lips against hers flashed across her eyes.

"Sweetie, what's wrong?" Hermione asked, placing a comforting hand on Daria's shoulder.

"Oh nothing," Daria replied, still shaking her head slightly as she watched her hand grip Draco's tie. "I'm just tired. I think I'm going to head up to the dorms."

"Are you sure? Do you want me to come with you?" Hermione still looked concerned.

"Oh no, that's ok. I'd rather be alone," Daria declined, "Thanks Hermione."

Daria slung her bag over her shoulder and shuffled out of the Great Hall.

She walked around aimlessly for close to an hour, all the while the vision playing again and again across her eyes, giving her a headache.

She watched Draco pull her against his body yet again and decided to lean against a nearby wall, placing her palms over her eyes to try to make it stop.

"It's not real," Daria whispered to herself, "The future is relative."

"Are you alright?" Daria heard someone ask and removed her hands from her eyes to look up at them.

Draco was standing a few feet away, staring at her. Her state had befuddled him so much he had forgotten to be rude.

"Peachy," Daria snapped, venomously, "I just keep seeing visions of us groping each other."

"I know how you feel," Draco sighed and leaned on the wall next her, crossing his arms. "Want to just forget it happened?"

"Oh believe me, I do," Daria replied before she began shaking her head again to get rid of the image of her biting her lip. "We could always use obliviate on each other."

A small chuckle escaped Draco's lips, "Not a chance. You'd make me forget my own name."

"So what should we do then?" Daria sighed and turned to look at him.

"We do everything we can to make sure the vision doesn't come true," he replied solemnly.

"Agreed," Daria retorted and a small smile found its way to her mouth. For once her and Malfoy actually agreed on something.

"Now you filthy little half blood, get back to your common room before I report you to McGonagall for being out so late," Draco smirked.

"Go fuck a duck, Malfoy," she spat but couldn't hide her smile, before she headed upstairs to the Gryffindor common room.

* * *

"Should I be a kitty or a bunny?" Daria asked as she looked through the costume accessories. The Hogsmeade trip had finally arrived and her and Harry were looking at costumes.

"That depends, does it count as a costume if you only wear the ears and tail?" Harry asked as he figured out what she was planning.

"Sure it does," she smiled, "I figure I'll just wear a tight short dress with either and nobody will be able to tell the difference seeing as all these costumes would make me look like a stripper anyways."

"Would be it too cliché if I dressed up as a wizard?" Harry asked.

Daria chuckled, "Well if that counts as a costume then me just wearing ears and a tail definitely counts."

"What do you think?" Ron asked as he came out of the changing room dressed as Merlin.

"Sorry, Ron. Harry is going to be a wizard," Daria stated playfully.

"Darn it," Ron sighed, "Harry always gets the good costumes."

* * *

"Where do you want to go next?" Harry asked as the three friends left the costume store. Daria had decided to be a cat, Harry was going to be a seeker for Puddlemere, and Ron was a pirate.

"I'm famished!" Daria exclaimed dramatically, "How about some lunch?"

"Sounds good to me. Ron?" Harry replied.

"I should probably go collect Hermione from the bookstore before she inhales too much of that new book smell and gets an aneurism. I'll catch up with you guys later," Ron's shouldered hunched forward as he dragged his feet in the direction of the book shop.

"Bye Ron!" Daria called before turning back to Harry. "So, where should we go to eat?"

"Hmm," Harry placed a finger on his chin as he thought for a second, "How about Madam Puddifoot's?"

"Sounds good to me," Daria replied with a smile. She had always wanted to go to the tea shop but had never had anyone to go with.

As they entered the tea shop, Daria immediately noticed the change of atmosphere. The quiet restaurant was a big change from the busy streets of Hogsmeade. The place was dimly lit and smelled of incense. Cuddling or snogging couples occupied almost every table. Daria immediately began to feel nervous. Her and Harry had only ever kissed once.

"Hello dearies," a sweet old waitress greeted them and took their cloaks, "Table for two? Right this way."

To Daria's relief, the waitress seated her and Harry off to the side, giving them some privacy from the other couples but not so much privacy so they could shag and not be noticed. Daria noticed that the tables at the back of the restaurant had drapes between them that could be pulled around the front for extra privacy. She felt like she had just walked into an orgy.

"So, are you excited about the dance?" Harry asked casually as he looked over the menu.

Daria pondered for a moment before she replied. Dances weren't really Daria's thing. Sure, she was excited about going with Harry but in general she didn't enjoy dances. Her mother had made her take ballroom dancing lessons all through her childhood and teen years so she was an excellent dancer, but the only times she ever got to use her skills were at the fancy parties her mother made her attend, which she loathed. She was excited to dance with Harry but seeing as he probably didn't even know the waltz it wouldn't be very fun for her. She only ever had one dance partner who could keep up with her but she just happened to hate his guts.

The sound of the door chime made Daria jump out of her thoughts and look towards the door.

"Mr. Malfoy, how lovely to see you," the waitress beamed as Draco entered. Pansy was clinging to his arm like she was afraid that if she let go he would escape. "I have your usually table ready, right this way."

The phrase 'speak of the devil' crossed Daria's mind.

The waitress led Draco and Pansy to a table in the back and scurried over to get Harry's and Daria's orders.

"I'll have a cup of Earl Grey and a hot turkey sandwich," Daria smiled as she handed the old lady her menu.

"Green tea and pumpkin soup, please," Harry stated and turned back to Daria as the waitress bustled away.

"You haven't answered my question yet," Harry pointed out, catching Daria off guard.

"Which was?" Daria asked embarrassedly. She couldn't, for the life of her, remember what they had been talking about before Malfoy came in.

"Are you excited about the dance?" he repeated, smiling amusedly at her forgetfulness.

"Oh yeah!" Daria replied, with a grin, "I can't wait."

They smiled at each other for a moment before Harry started talking again.

"I've been thinking," he began.

"You seem to be doing an awful lot of that lately," Daria noticed, a sly smile on her lips.

"Yes, well," Harry muttered, beginning again, "I was thinking it might be nice if we went to the dance as a couple and if you'd wear my ring."

Harry pulled off his Gryffindor class ring and presented it to her. It was gold with a ruby stone.

For some inexplicable reason, Daria's eye's immediately shot to Draco, who was still sitting in the back with his pug. At the moment, he was trying to push Pansy off of his arm and failing miserably, but he sensed her gaze and looked up, finding himself submerged in her emerald eyes. It occurred to him that he was not whom she should be looking at while on a date and he reluctantly moved his eyes to Potter and noticed he was holding up his class ring to her.

Daria looked back at Harry, then the ring, and felt a wave of nausea rush over her. She couldn't understand what was wrong with her, why hadn't she accepted yet? She had had a crush on Harry Potter since third year and now, after three years of flirting she was having second thoughts? All because of some stupid vision of her and Draco that probably wouldn't even come true? She didn't want it to come true.

'_We do everything we can to make sure the vision doesn't come true,'_ Draco's voice echoed in her ears.

Everything they can? That definitely included becoming Harry's girlfriend. Maybe, just maybe, if her and Draco both kept themselves unavailable, the future could change. She would never be kissing Draco in the astronomy tower; she would be kissing Harry, who actually liked her.

"Oh Harry," Daria beamed, "I'd be honored to be your girlfriend."

Harry's grin grew so wide she was surprised it was able to fit on his face. She let him slide his ring onto her finger and he preformed a sizing spell to make it fit before he placed his hands on her cheeks and pulled her lips to his.

This was only their second kiss. Their first had been so magical; it had given her an unexplainable high. But as Daria felt Harry press his warm lips against hers this time, she felt nothing.

**A/N: Hey readers. Hope you enjoyed this extra long chapter to celebrate making it to part 10 =) Please be sure to review, I'd love to hear what everyone thinks so far.**


	11. The one with flying reindeer

Daria and Blaise walked down the corridors together towards Care of Magical Creatures.

"So, I hear you're dating Harry Potter now," Blaise pried, trying to sound casual.

"Yep," Daria smiled, "And I couldn't be happier."

"Well that's great," he grinned, "We need some more happy couples in this school, not like Malfoy and Parkinson."

"Why is he even dating her?" Daria asked raising an eyebrow. She had always wondered why he kept Pansy around when he seemed to hate her.

"Beats me," he shrugged, "He's always complaining about her."

"Blaise! There you are," they heard someone call and both looked up to see Malfoy coming their way.

He looked puzzled when he saw Daria, "Did she get lost or something?"

She glared at him.

"No, we were just heading to COMC together," Blaise replied coldy.

"Why?" Malfoy looked confused. "Anyways, Pike needs to talk to you about the after party prep in the common room. He's dropping the ball with getting adult refreshments and we need you to pull some strings."

Blaised groaned, "Alright. See ya later Daria."

* * *

"Since when do you hang around with McVey?" Draco sneered once she was out of hearing range. "You know she's a half blood right?"

"Oh… I uh, don't really. We….uh just have a few classes together," Blaise responded nervously.

"Do you have a thing for her or something?" Draco raised his eyebrow.

"She's a little out of my league Malfoy," Blaise shrugged, "And besides, she's dating Potter."

"No Gryffindor is out of a Slytherin's league," Draco smirked, "You should invite her to the after party."

"I don't know if she'd want to come, I don't think she likes Slytherins very much," Blaise sighed.

"Oh sure she will," Draco encouraged, "Just make sure you mention the free alcohol."

Blaise smiled thoughtfully.

* * *

Daria skimmed through the shelves of the library trying to find a book on flying reindeer. After several minutes of searching, she finally found one and took a seat next to Luna Lovegood.

"I finally found something," she stated as she flipped through the book.

"That's good, I'm surprised Hagrid is having us write an essay," Luna said, keeping her eyes on something above her head. "Personally, I enjoy when he just lets us examine the animals ourselves."

Daria started scribbling down something she'd found in the book then offered it to Luna.

"No thank you," Luna smiled, "I spent a summer at a reindeer farm when I was five so I know all there is to know about them."

"If you know so much about them then why did I spend 15 minutes searching for a book about them?" Daria grumbled, a little annoyed.

"So that you can learn about them too," Luna chirped, "They are very fascinating creatures."

Daria sighed as she continued skimming through the book.

"Hey Daria," Blaise said as he sat down across from the two girls, "What did I miss today?"

"We have to write an essay on Santa's freaking reindeer," Daria growled as she realized she was out of ink.

She looked up to see that Blaise was ignoring her though; he was busy staring wide eyed at Luna.

"Oh, Blaise, this is Luna Lovegood. Luna, this is Blaise Zabini," Daria stated casually. "You can share my book if you want."

"No thanks," Blaise replied, finally taking his eyes of Luna, "I just came up here to see if you wanted to stop by the Slytherin after party on Halloween. There will be free drinks."

Daria pondered for a second, "Thanks for inviting me Blaise but I think I'll pass."

"Alright well if you change your mind just come on down." He smiled as he turned back to Luna, "You can come too Luna, if you want."

"I'll be there," Luna smiled, "I love parties."

"Great," Blaise beamed, "See ya."

Daria gave Luna a weird look before she went back to her essay, muttering about crazy people and reindeer.

* * *

After Daria had finished her essay she decided to hang out in the Gryffindor common room for a while before bed. She found a nice comfy sofa away from a group of fourth year boys playing paper quidditch and took a seat, pulling out her muggle ipod. She connected a set of shrunken speakers and hit shuffle.

'Viva la Vida' by Coldplay started playing and Daria smiled to herself as she let the music wash over her and calm her. The group of boys shot her a glare before going back to their game.

"Turn that noise down!" Daria looked up and saw Ron walking through the portrait hole. She grinned at him and patted the seat next to her.

"Oh please, you love this song," she replied as he sat down next to her, but turned it down a notch.

"I will admit, your muggle music is starting to grow on me," he smiled.

"How's Her-m-i-one?" Daria sang, trying to sound sappy.

"She's good," Ron shrugged. "I finally abandoned her in the library, I couldn't sit in there any longer watching her do our homework. What about you and Harry? How was Madam Puddifoot's?" he asked, nudging her playfully with his elbow.

Daria rolled her eyed, "It was ok. Not really my scene though."

"Too much P.D.A.?" Ron chuckled.

"A little," Daria nodded, "I don't particularly enjoy watching my classmates snuck each others' faces off."

"That's why Hermione and I went to the Three Broomsticks instead. No pressure there," Ron replied.

"Oh? So you could sit together in awkward silence sipping butterbeers," Daria joked.

Ron turned crimson and started muttering to himself, making Daria laugh.

"I just get so nervous around her. She's so pretty and smart, and I have no idea why she'd even been interested in me," Ron mumbled.

"It's a mystery," Daria grinned, making Ron push her playfully, "But by some miracle she does and you shouldn't let her get away, lest she realize how strange you are."

Ron chuckled, "Well let us hope, for my sake, that she never does."

Hermione entered the common room and took a seat next to Ron, "Hey Daria."

"Finally complete all the essays for this year?" Daria teased, making Hermione roll her eyes.

"I heard Harry gave you his class ring," Hermione beamed, reaching her Daria's hand.

"That is so sweet," she gushed and Daria saw Ron look nervous again. He smoothly tried to put his arm around Hermione's shoulder but his fingers got caught up in her bushy hair.

"Ow!" Hermione yelled, "Ronald, what are you doing?"

"Oh I, um... Sorry about that Mione. I was just trying to... uh," Ron stammered as the two of them tried to untangle his hand from her hair.

Daria thought she was going to pee herself from trying to hold in her laughter.

"I'll see you guys later," she muttered, turning so they couldn't see her grin, "I'm going to go to bed."

She shut off her ipod and headed up the stairs, allowing herself a laugh as she heard Ron trying to apologize again.

**A/N: Sorry this part wasn't very eventful. The next chapter Daria and Harry are going to the Halloween dance and it will be very eventful ;)**


	12. The one with the costumes

"You look like a hooker," Hermione complained as Daria pulled her leather boots on. Daria was wearing a strapless black mini dress, thigh high leather boots, and a cattail and ears. Hermione was dressed conservatively as a muggle dentist.

"Well I'm sure I won't be the only one," Daria shrugged as she put on some lipstick.

"The only one in Gryffindor, that's for sure," Hermione corrected, "Maybe you wouldn't look so much like a whore if you were in Slytherin."

Daria chuckled and tried to ignore the sick feeling in the pit of her stomach at Hermione's words.

**FLASHBACK**

"Which house do you want to be in? I hope I get into Gryffindor," Hermione chirped as her and Daria stood in line to get sorted.

"Well if you want to be in Gryffindor then so do I," Daria smiled.

"Hermione Granger," Professor McGonagall called and Hermione hurried up to sit on the stool.

"Gryffindor!" the hat called and everyone clapped.

"Draco Malfoy."

Daria recognized the son of one of her mother's friends as he approached the stool.

Before the hat even touched his platinum blond hair it shouted, "Slytherin." Malfoy smirked and Daria made a mental note that that was not the house she wanted to be in.

"Daria McVey."

Daria heard some whispered arise from the Slytherin table. They no doubt recognized her mother's last name. She was a very well respected pure blood, or at least she was before she had married a muggle and had his child.

Daria nervously went up to sit on the stool and McGonagall placed the hat on her head.

_'Hmm,'_ she heard a voice say in her ear, _'Very tricky you are. You would be very well suited to Slytherin, I can feel it in your blood. You come from a long line of them.'_

_Gryffindor. Please, Gryffindor,_ Daria thought desperately.

_'Gryffindor eh?'_ the hat pondered, _'But you would be perfect for Slytherin. If that's what you want…'_

"Gryffindor!"

The Gryffindor table cheered and Daria went to sit next to Hermione.

"I'm so glad you got into Gryffindor," she squealed.

"Yeah me too," Daria smiled weakly.

**END FLASHBACK**

Daria and Hermione headed down to the common room and met with Harry and Ron; Harry in his Puddlemere quidditch costume and Ron in his pirate get up.

Daria caught Harry looking her up and down as she walked down the stairs, "You look beautiful."

"Yeah you do," Ron grinned, earning a smack on the arm from Hermione.

She smiled, "Thanks. Ready to go?"

Harry placed his hand on the small of her back and led her down to the Great Hall, with Ron and Hermione following distantly behind them, both looking very uncomfortable.

When they arrived in the hall, they found an empty table and Daria sat her purse down while Harry and Ron went to get some punch.

"All the guys are looking at you," Hermione pointed out, making Daria glance around the room.

True, there were quite a few guys checking her out, but most of them had the sense to quickly look away once she looked back at them. She didn't really stand out, in her opinion, though. She looked downright modest compared to most of the Slytherin girls and a few from the other houses as well.

"Can I have this dance?" Harry asked after he handed Daria some punch.

She smiled at him, before setting her glass down on the table, "I'd love to."

Harry took her hand and led her out onto the dance floor. He wrapped his arm tightly around her waist and she wrapped hers around his neck as they twirled around the floor to a slow song.

Daria spotted something orange out of the corner of her eye and turned her head to look at it. First she spotted Pansy, who was, to Daria's dismay, also dressed as a cat.

_A dog would be more fitting_, Daria thought to herself with a smirk.

Her outfit was far more revealing than Daria's though and was made of real orange fur which made her look more like something the cat had spit up than a cat itself.

She was dancing with Malfoy, whom was dressed as Dracula and looked rather dashing, despite his grimace. Him and Pansy were attempting to do the waltz but it wasn't going too well. Draco's form was flawless but Pansy looked like she was drunk in comparison.

"Damnit Pansy, quit stepping on my toes," Draco hissed as an attempt at twirling her had nearly put him on his ass.

Daria snorted in amusement and noticed her and Harry had stopped dancing as they watched the scene together in amusement.

After a few more unsuccessful minutes Draco finally threw his hands up in frustration and walked away, leaving Pansy to scurry after him.

The slow song went off and a faster paced one by The Weird Sisters took its place.

"I love this song," Daria exclaimed, excited that they were playing one of the few wizarding songs she enjoyed.

Harry looked nervous and dropped his gaze to the floor, "Oh I don't really dance, at least not at this pace."

Daria resisted the urge to ask why'd he come to a dance but instead suggested they go back to their table with Ron and Hermione to get a snack.

"But Hermione, this is my favorite song. Are you sure you don't want to dance with me?" Ron implored as Daria and Harry sat down.

"No Ronald, I'll only make a fool of myself," Hermione replied, shaking her head vigorously.

Ron and Daria exchanged annoyed looks at their dates before Ron got an idea.

"Daria would you like to dance?" he asked with a grin.

Daria looked at Harry for permission but he just shrugged, so she grabbed Ron's hand and pulled him out on the dance floor.

"One wonders why they'd even want to come to a dance in the first place," Ron sighed loudly over the music as him and Daria jumped around to the beat.

"I guess we're just that pretty," Daria laughed as she started bobbing her head and put her hands up in the air.

"You know what it is? They're just afraid they'll look like idiots, like us," Ron joked and started playing air guitar making Daria chuckle.

She noticed Draco and Parkinson grinding a little ways away and noted that Pansy seemed to be much more skilled at this type of dancing, probably from all her extra curricular activities.

"You often stare at Malfoy?" Ron raised an eyebrow, noticing where Daria's eyes were. He was much more observant than Harry.

"I'm just worried about the stability of Pansy's dress. I'd hate to get a full show tonight," Daria replied but Ron didn't look convinced.

"Whatever you say Daria," he shrugged, "But you should stay away from him. That git is no good."

Daria and Ron danced for another song that was also Ron's 'favorite' before they got tired.

"I'm parched! We'd better be getting back to our dates," Daria stated and Ron led her back to their table, both panting.

"Would you like some more punch?" Harry asked as Daria sat down beside him.

"Yes please," Daria smiled and Harry grabbed both their cups and headed towards the punch bowl.

"Did you guys have fun?" Hermione asked, looking up from her book that she had just happened to bring. She reminded Daria of herself last time she was at Malfoy manner.

"Loads! You should try it," Ron suggested with a grin.

"No thank you," Hermione replied, flipping a page, making Ron roll his eyes.

"Here you are, my dear," Harry smiled as he handed Daria her punch and sat back down beside her. She downed it in one gulp and watched Harry slowly take a few sips of his before he started coughing profusely.

"Harry are you ok?" Daria asked, getting up to try to help him.

Harry finally was able to stop coughing and nodded his head.

"Yeah I'm ok," Harry replied, "But... But suddenly I'm all itchy." He started scratching himself vigorously and suddenly giant purple boils began to pop up all over his skin.

"Arg," Harry cried, trying to stop himself from scratching since it was making more appear.

Daria shot her eyes at his punch glass and picked it up, taking a sniff. It smelled like cherries with a slight hit of frog's breath. Nothing was more suspiciously than frog's breath.

"Someone put a potion in his punch," Daria exclaimed, "We need to get him to the hospital wing!"

Ron and Hermione immediately got up and helped her try to lead Harry out of the Great Hall, but their classmates had already begun to notice and made it harder to get through since they all wanted to get a look at Harry. They immediately cleared a path though, when the boils began bursting with green puss.

Once they arrived at the hospital wing, Madame Pomfery had them lay Harry on a bed and she hurried off to find a remedy. Harry lied on the bed moaning in pain while Ron and Hermione started questioning Daria.

"But Daria, how could anyone have put something in the punch? We're all fine, it's just Harry," Hermione asked.

"They must have put it in his cup then. Did anyone come to the table while you were sitting there, Hermione?" Daria questioned.

Hermione shook her head, "No, but after you and Ron started dancing Harry left to get some food and I went to the bathroom. So anyone could have come up to the table during that time."

_Anyone... But only one with malicious intent._

'_I hadn't considered you would change the rules and open the doors to public humiliation,'_ Daria heard Malfoy's voice ring through her ears and felt her stomach leap into her throat. It wasn't enough for him to try to get back at her, now he was trying to get to her through Harry.


	13. The one with the Slytherin after party

Daria sat next to Harry's hospital bed, glowering at the floor. All she could think of was what she would do to get back at Malfoy for doing this to Harry. He was just an innocent bystander; there was no need to drag him into this.

Harry's boils were gone, thanks to some more potion from Madam Pomfry and he was sleeping off the effects

"Miss McVey, you should head back up to your dormitory now. The dance is over and it's past curfew. Mr. Potter will be released tomorrow," Madam Pomfrey said as she bustled over to check Harry's head for a fever.

Daria sighed and reluctantly stood up, "Thank you, Madam Pomfry."

Madam Pomfrey nodded in acknowledgement and Daria shuffled out of the hospital wing.

Daria wasn't tired and didn't really want to go back to her dorms right now, she had too much on her mind.

Everyone thought she was still at the hospital wing and wouldn't notice if she was a little later getting in, plus she had a bone to pick with Malfoy. Her eye's darted around to make sure no one was around to see her and she marched down to the dungeons, towards the Slytherin common room.

"Hey Daria!" Daria looked up and saw Blaise standing outside the common room to let people in, "Glad you could make it."

"Hey Blaise. What's up?" she smiled.

"Oh not much. Does your boyfriend know you're down here?" he asked, slightly smirking.

"Actually, he's in the hospital wing right now. I need to talk to Malfoy," she replied, "Can you let me in?"

"Pureblood" Blaise spoke and the portal opened, "You haven't seen Luna have you?"

"Can't say I have," she answered before she climbed through the portrait hole. She heard Blaise sigh sadly.

Everyone was grinding and some people were making out on couches and there wasn't a sober person in the lot.

Daria couldn't see Malfoy through the crowd, so she walked up to the bar, "I'll have a fire whiskey."

Goyle turned toward her, "Well, well, well, what's a little Gryffindor like you doing here?" he asked, sporting a stupid grin.

"I was invited for your information," she sneered, "Now I said I wanted a fire whiskey, please."

"Fine. Here," he said handing her a large glass before turning to attend to some other people.

Daria sat at the bar sipping her fire whiskey as she searched for Malfoy.

After a few songs, Blaise came up and sat beside her, "Goyle, can I get a couple shots over here?"

Daria raised her eyebrow at him.

"Would you mind drinking with me? I'm kind of blue," he asked sadly.

"Luna not here yet?" she asked casually.

He looked shocked, "How did you…"

"I'm not that dense, mate. I could tell by the way you looked at her," she smiled.

Blaise looked nervous, "Please don't mention it anyone. I have a reputation to uphold," he began, "And liking a starry eyed crazy chicks isn't part of it."

Daria rolled her eyes but smiled, "Of course not mate. Who would I tell anyways? My friends wouldn't be too keen to me being friendly with a Slytherin. I guess I could always tell my best buddy Malfoy, but I guess I can resist the temptation for you," she joked.

Blaise smiled back as Goyle handed them the shots, "To friendship."

Daria clinked her glass against his and they both downed their shots.

"Wanna dance?" Blaise asked as a new song started.

"Sure!" Daria chirped as she hoped up. Blaise had to steady her though to stop her from falling over.

"Haha, I think you've had enough alcohol for one evening," he chuckled.

"Oh nonsense," she argued as she finished her fire whiskey, "I'm just a lit-tle tips-sy."

He laughed as he led her out to the dance floor and Daria was excited to hear a muggle song playing, 'Party Rock Anthem' by LMFAO.

"This song kicks ass!" Daria shouted over the music as Blaise grabbed her hips and they started shaking to the beat.

Blaise was quick on his feet but Daria effortlessly kept up, she enjoyed herself far more during this one dance than she had all evening. As the song continued they both got a bit more daring and started to grind to the rhythm. Luckily, Blaise was a gentleman and didn't let his hands wander.

After the song was over Blaise excused himself to go to the bathroom and Daria stood in the middle of the dance floor for a moment before she remembered the reason why she was there. Luckily for her, he had found her first.

"You look stunning this evening," Draco purred in her ear from behind her, "Does the costume come with a matching whip?"

Daria immediately spun around, nearly hitting her nose on his due to his closeness to her. Her eyes narrowed into slits.

"Malfoy," she spat, "This time you've gone too far."

He raised an eyebrow but didn't seem threatened, "What are you on about?"

"Harry's in the hospital wing because someone put a potion in his drink," Daria growled.

Draco chuckled, "Saint Potter finally got what was coming to him."

Daria's glare intensified before she quickly pulled out her wand and pointed it at his chest, "Everte Statum!"

Draco stumbled backwards and groaned. The couples dancing around them stopped and quickly moved out of the way, moving to the sidelines to watch.

Draco pulled out his wand, "Expelliarmus!"

Daria jumped out of the way. "Stupefy!" she shot.

Draco rolled out of the way and narrowly missed the spell.

"Rictusempra!" Draco countered and a jet of silver light shot toward her.

"Protego!" she shouted and the shield made it up just in time. She saw the portrait hole fly open and a dark figure enter out of the corner of her eye as the spelled reflected back at Draco, hitting him square in the chest and causing him fall to his knees doubled over as he was hit by his own tickling spell.

"McVey! Malfoy! Follow me now!" Snape barked angrily.

Draco pulled himself to his feet and dusted himself off. They both pocketed their wands and followed Snape silently to his office.

When they arrived, Snaped motioned to two chairs in front of his desk and Daria and Draco took a seat as Snape sat down across from them.

"What could have possibly possessed you idiots to have a duel in the middle of the Slytherin common room? Which you should not have even been in, Miss McVey," Snape snapped.

They both remained silent, eyes on the ground.

"Who cast the first spell?" Snape demanded, shooting his eyes to Daria. She continued to stare silently at the floor.

"I did professor," Draco stated. Both Daria and Snape looked at up him in surprise.

"Mr. Malfoy I'm very disappointed in you," Snape sighed. "50 points will be taken from each of your houses and you shall both be serving a week's detention with me. You're lucky I don't expel you both."

Daria and Draco both nodded in understanding.

"Now get out of my office, I don't want to see either of you for the rest of the night," he hissed before both students scurried out of the room.

As soon as they were out in the hallway Draco quickly strode off toward the Slytherin common room, ignoring Daria's stares as she watched him hurry away.

**A/N: Aw, Draco took the fall for her. Find out why next chapter. Please leave me some reviews to let me know what you think =)**


	14. The one with dirty cauldrons

Harry wasn't in History of Magic the next morning. Ron had gone to visit him before classes and Madam Pomfrey told him the boil potion hadn't been made correctly so he'd be out of sorts for a few days which made Daria feel even more awful.

When she entered Divinations she saw Blaise grinning wildly at her. She sighed and took her seat next to him.

"Pretty crazy night huh?" he smirked.

"Tell me about it," Daria replied, rolling her eyes making him chuckle.

"So what did he do this time?" Blaise asked.

"Oh nothing much, just drugged my boyfriend with a potion that landed him in the hospital wing," Daria grumbled.

Blaise raised an eyebrow, "That doesn't sound like something he'd do. I mean, Malfoy's good at potions but he's not the kind of bloke who does potion brewing in his spare time in the boys bathroom. How do you know it was him? Did he tell you he did it?"

"Well, no," Daria mumbled, "But who else would it have been?"

Blaise shrugged, "Got me. But Malfoy's the bragging type. If it had been him he'd be running around gloating himself into oblivion. Plus he tends to be more direct. Premeditation and forethought aren't his forte. If he wanted to do something to Potter, he'd probably just hex him or hit him."

Daria was silent.

"So you hexed the crap out of the poor guy for something he probably didn't even do," Blaise smiled, "You Gryffindors are spiteful."

"I'm a terrible person," she sighed as she put her head in her hands.

Blaise chuckled, "You're no worse than he is."

She glared at him, "Yeah cause that's my goal in life, to be no worse of a person than Malfoy. I like to keep my standards high."

"But enough about me," Daria continued, "What happened after the duel?"

"Well, Luna showed up," Blaise replied, trying to sound indifferent but there was a smile hiding on his lips.

"Oh? How did that go?" she pried.

"It went ok," Blaise shrugged, "We ended up sharing a dance. She's quite..."

"Crazy?" Daria finished. "Completely and utterly mental?"

"I was going to say quirky," Blaise laughed.

* * *

Daria sauntered down to the dungeons after dinner to serve her first detention with Malfoy.

Snape and Draco were waiting outside Snape's office when she arrived.

"This way," Snape instructed as he began walking, "You two will be serving detention in the potions classroom."

When they arrived at the classroom, Daria and Draco both took a seat and Snape headed over to a broom closet. He opened it and a pile of dirty cauldrons toppled out.

"Today you two will be cleaning my cauldrons," Snape smirked. "I want to be able to see myself in them when you're done. I'll be in my office. Mr. Malfoy, let me know if Miss McVey here doesn't do her share."

Snape strode out of the classroom leaving them alone with a pile of dirty cauldrons and some sponges.

"I think this is a set up. I have never seen my reflexion in a cauldron, even a brand new one," Daria stated lightly.

Draco didn't respond; he just stood up, grabbed two cauldrons and some sponges, and handed her one before he sat back down beside her. He immediately started cleaning the cauldron while he glared at it.

"Hey do you mind if I turn on some music?" Daria asked, pulling out her iPod and speakers. "I can't function without background music."

Draco shrugged, "Whatever. But if Snape catches you, don't expect me to cover for you," he scowled, "Again."

Daria hit shuffle and heard 'I Knew You Were Trouble' by Taylor Swift start playing before she started talking.

"Why did you?" she asked, "Cover for me, that is."

Draco shrugged but continued to glare at his cauldron as he scrubbed.

"You're not cleaning," he snapped and she quickly started scrubbing her cauldron before he decided to get her in trouble with Snape.

"I lied," he started with a sigh, "Because if Snape knew you had cast the first spell he would have expelled you before I even got the chance to find out why you hexed me."

Daria chewed this information over for a minute. He was right. Snape would have probably expelled her. After all, she had gone to another house's common room and hexed one its residents.

"Why did you hex me?" she heard him mutter as he began to scrub more vigorously.

"Someone spiked Harry's punch with boil potion at the dance. He's in the hospital wing now," Daria sighed.

Draco finally looked up at her, an assumed grin on his face.

"How did I not hear about this?" he asked, "I would have loved to see scar head covered in puss filled boils."

Daria shot him a glare before she continued, "So you're not the one who did it then?"

His face fell slightly, "Afraid not. Maybe you should have asked me that before you started shooting spells at me."

Daria frowned, "I'd just assumed it was you trying to get back at me for on the train."

Draco raised his eyebrow, "You mean when you made it look like I was pissing myself in front of those cute girls? You still think I'm trying to get back at you for that?"

She looked at him dumbfounded, "Aren't you?"

He chuckled, "Just because you hold a grudge doesn't mean everyone is as bent on revenge as you are."

"So you aren't going to try to publicly humiliate me?" Daria asked, still looking confused.

"I haven't been actively plotting it. No. You already make enough of a fool of yourself. You don't need my help," he retorted. "Like dancing with Zabini at the after party. What if your precious Potter found out you were grinding with my best friend?"

She shrugged, choosing not to take offense at his words, "Blaise is just a friend. I danced with Ron too but I don't think it was a crime."

They continued scrubbing in silence for a few minutes before a new song started, 'We Are Young' by fun..

"What kind of music is this?" Draco questioned raising an eyebrow.

"It's muggle music," she replied.

He shuttered before he continued, "I've heard this song before."

"We danced to it over the summer," Daria retorted, "Remember? That was when you threatened me."

"There was muggle music playing in my house?!" Draco exclaimed incredulously.

"Yeah, you'd better fire your D.J.," she rolled her eyes, "Or else people might think you actually have decent tastes in music."

She heard Draco snort before he changed the subject.

"I still can't see my reflection in this damn thing," he grumbled as spun his cauldron around in his hands.


	15. The one with the hair changing potion

"Quidditch practice after dinner," Harry snapped in Ron's and Daria's ears making them jump.

"Oye, when did you get out of the hospital?" Ron asked as Harry took a seat between him and Daria.

"Last night," Harry replied, "Just in time for this evening's practice."

"But Harry, you can't practice today," Daria argued, "You just got out of the hospital."

"I'm fine," Harry disagreed. "We have our first match against Slytherin this weekend and we need to train."

Ron rolled his eyes but didn't argue. Harry turned to Daria for a response.

"I'm sorry Harry, I have detention tonight with Snape," she sighed with a frown.

"Oh well that's ok," Harry shrugged, "We'll just move practice to tomorrow."

Daria's eyes shot to the floor. "Yeah, I kind of have detention tomorrow too," she mumbled, "And the rest of the week."

"Merlin, Daria! What did you do?" Ron exclaimed. Him and Harry both watched her anxiously for an answer.

"Malfoy and I got into it in the halls after the dance and ended up dueling," she replied. Daria didn't feel like getting into all the details with them.

"Who won?" Harry was beaming.

"Oh I was totally kicking his ass before Snape showed up," Daria smiled.

"You're my hero," Ron grinned, giving her a high five.

* * *

Daria took her seat between Blaise and Draco in potions class. They were deep in conversation but stopped talking once she sat down. Blaise smiled at her.

"It feels like it's been forever since I last saw you. I've missed you so much," Blaise joked.

Daria chuckled. She had just seem him 5 minutes ago in Care of Magical Creatures, then before that they had Divination together, and before that History of Magic.

"I think I see you more than I see my boyfriend and my friends," she stated.

"Well that just makes me feel great. I'm sorry you have to see me more than your friends," he replied, faking a hurt look, making her smile.

"I meant my other friends," she smiled, nudging him playfully.

"McVey you're being a real conversation distraction," Draco snapped, making both her and Blaise turn towards him.

"Sorry about that Malfoy," Blaise shrugged, "But what are our opinions as far as practicing. Do you think Snape would excuse you for an evening?"

Daria tried to politely absorb herself in her book but since she was right in the middle of the conversation she couldn't help but listen.

"No, I already asked him" Draco grumbled. "The team needs to practice though, so you need to get them together this week, without me."

"I don't know Malfoy. They don't listen to me very well," Blaise complained.

Draco sighed frustratedly, "Just tell them I put you in charge. Hopefully they'll listen to that."

"If you say so, mate," Blaise shrugged.

"And make sure Crabbe and Goyle don't beat anyone with their bludgers or bats. We don't need any injuries before the actual game," Draco asserted.

Blaise chuckled dryly, "Yeah, I can't promise that man. You know how they get a little... excited."

"You could always take their bats away," Daria suggested hopefully. If the Slytherin beater didn't have bats, it would make her life a lot easier.

"You're right," Draco rolled his eyes, "Because we wouldn't want the Slytherin team to win or anything."

Daria shrugged, "Face it. They do more damage than good. They are just as likely to hurt your players as they are to hurt the Gryffindor ones."

"She's got a point," Blaise chuckled. Draco didn't look amused.

"The bats stay. And next time I want quidditch advice from the opposing team, I'll ask," he grumbled.

"Silence!" Snape announced as he stormed into the classroom, "Open your books to page four hundred and ninety seven and get to work on the invisibility potion it explains."

* * *

Daria trudged through the dungeons after class up to the Great Hall. She dreaded the fact that she was going to have to come right back down after dinner.

Her and Hermione ate together since Ron and Harry were busy getting ready for practice. Hermione was skimming through her Ancient Runes text book while Daria tried to shove as much food down her throat as she could before she had to go back down to the dungeons.

"So what were you doing at the Slytherin after party?" Hermione asked casually, still looking down at her book.

Daria looked up at her for just a second to raise her eyebrow before she went back to her food.

"I needed to talk to Malfoy," Daria shrugged.

"You did a little bit more than talking from what I hear," Hermione replied.

"How do you even know I was down there? I told Harry and Ron we fought in the halls," Daria asked, defensively.

Hermione shrugged, "Luna told me."

"That little bleeder," Daria grumbled, glaring down at her plate. "You can't tell Harry."

"I wasn't planning to," Hermione looked up, with a small smile, "But what were you doing down there?"

"I thought that Draco had been the one that spiked Harry's drink and I wanted to let him have it," Daria explained. "But it turns out it wasn't even him."

Hermione raised her eyebrow, "It wasn't? How do you know?"

Daria shrugged, "Because he told me he didn't."

"And you believed him? Just like that?" Hermione asked incredulously, "How do you know he's not just trying to get you to lower your guard?"

Daria didn't respond as she poked at her chicken. Poisoning people might not have been Draco's way of doing things, but tricking her certainly was. But it seemed a little extreme that he would get detention for her all in the name of trying to get to her. To try to get her to lower her guard so he could do something big.

* * *

Daria headed back down the to dungeons after dinner and met Snape and Draco in the potions classroom.

"Today you two will be grading some of the 2nd year's potions," Snape grinned, pulling out a box filled with vials and a grade book.

"Miss McVey, you will drink the potion and if you hair changes color, that student gets a check. But if you break out in hives then that student gets a zero. If anything worse happens, notify me immediately; you may need to be taken to the hospital wing. Mr. Malfoy, you will record the grades in my grade book. I'll be in my office," Snape explained before he exited the room.

"Oh goody," Daria sighed, "I've always wanted purple hair and hives." She pulled out her ipod and hit shuffle.

Draco raised his eyebrow. "I didn't say you could use that today."

She shot him a sardonic look, "What are you going to do? Rat me out to Snape?"

He didn't answer but handed her the first vial of black potion and opened the grade book. She downed the potion that tasted surprisingly like maple syrup and her hair slowly started turning blue. Draco marked it down in the book.

"If you can't function without music then how do you make it through classes?" Draco asked as he handed her another potion.

"I use an invisibility charm on my headphones," Daria shrugged and kicked back the potion. This one made her hair turn green.

He smirked and shook his head, "And in the 6 years you've been here, nobody has noticed?"

"Nope," Daria smiled, "Most of the teachers don't recognize muggle devices, especially invisible ones. Even if they did catch me, they'd have no idea what it's supposed to do."

Draco picked up another vial; this one was pea green. He raised his eyebrow as he examined it, "I don't think you should drink this, it's clearly not made right."

Daria nodded her head, "Agreed."

Draco dumped the green potion down the sink, wrote down a zero, and handed her another black one that turned her hair pink.

"So I found out who spiked Potter's punch," Draco stated casually.

Daria nearly choked on the potion she was drinking and shot her eyes eagerly up to his, "Who?!"

"It was Parkinson. I overheard her and her friends talking about it this morning," he shrugged, like this was completely unsurprising.

"What?!" Daria exclaimed, "Why... Why would she try to hurt Harry?"

Draco rolled his eyes, "She wasn't going for Harry. She thought she was spiking your cup."

"Why would she want to poison me? I haven't even pissed her off yet this year," Daria looked even more bewildered which seemed to annoy him.

"Oh trust me you did," he grumbled, "She saw you look at me and went on about it all weekend."

Daria threw her hands up in frustration, "God forbid I look at people! Excuse me, I'll just keep my eyes on the floor from now on."

Draco snickered a little bit and smirked, "You don't know what I'm talking about do you?"

She raised her eyebrow and shook her head.

He sighed. "At Madam Puddifoot's. When Potter gave you that ugly thing," he motioned to her ring, "You looked at me. I'm actually really shocked Scarhead didn't notice; Pansy sure did."

Daria's eyes fell to the floor, she had hoped no one, including Draco, had noticed, despite them making eye contact. She grabbed the next vial but paused, it didn't smell like maple syrup.

"This one smells funny," she stated, examining the black potion.

"Then dump it," Draco shrugged.

She poured it down the drain. "Are you sure you don't want to see me break out in hives?"

Draco smirked, "I don't think they'd go too good with your yellow hair. Have you ever considered becoming a blond?"

"No way. I know one too many blonds who are pricks," she chuckled before drinking the next vial that turned her hair purple.

"Why did you look at me?" Draco asked, not being deterred by her changing the subject.

She looked into his icy blue eyes and raised a brow, "Why did you cover for me with Snape?"

"I asked you first," he retorted, his blue eyes bore into hers. She tried to ignore the butterflies that started having a party in her stomach.

"No, I asked you that question yesterday," she stated.

"And I answered you yesterday," he snapped.

"I want a better answer," she asserted.

They sat there for a few minutes in a staring contest before Snape strolled into the room.

"You two may go now," he stated before he picked up his grade book and left again.

Draco finally broke eye contact as he stood up and grabbed his things, "I'm not giving you any more answers until you give me some," he sneered before he traipsed out.

Daria groaned loudly in frustration before grabbing her bag and heading back to the Gryffindor common room.

**A/N: Hmm I wonder what will happen next with all this tension. Next part will probably be up tomorrow. Leave a review if you liked it =)**


	16. The one with the head bashing

Daria sat on one of the couches in the common room after detention, glaring at her COMC book. The words, "Draco is an ass," kept running through her head, along with the vision of her and Draco snogging.

She tried too swallow down the butterflies as the vision of her lips brushing against his played in her mind. Why was he having such an effect on her? It was ridiculous. He wasn't even that good looking.

His icy blue eyes flashed before hers. Okay so maybe he was, in a really obvious sort of way. But he was a complete and total ass and she was dating Harry.

She thought back to her and Draco's conversation in detention. Why had she looked at him when Harry had asked her to be his girlfriend? Harry would be the obvious person she should have looked at.

She knew deep down why her eyes had shot to his in the tea shop, but she'd never tell him why. She couldn't tell him how as soon as she saw Harry's ring she imaged Draco's lips. She had had second thoughts about whether or not she wanted the future to come true, because deep down, she was dying to know what he tasted like.

Daria began bashing her book against her head and groaned.

"Are you alright, love?" Daria looked up from her head bashing and saw Harry come through the portrait hole.

"Peachy," she sighed.

Harry sat down and put his arm around her, "Do you want to talk about it?"

_Not with you._

"No," she replied, "Thanks though."

He smiled at her.

"Are you just getting back from practice?" she asked, noticing it was already eleven.

He nodded his head.

"How'd it go?" she asked.

"Pretty well," he shrugged, "It would have been better if my best chaser hadn't been missing."

Daria smiled, "Oh please, you're just saying that cause I'm your girlfriend."

He laughed, "No, you really are the best. You're just being modest."

Daria blushed a little, which caused him to grin.

"I'm going to head up to bed," Harry stated, "Goodnight Daria."

He leaned in and pressed his lips against hers. She kissed him back but felt the urge to start bashing her head against a book again when a pair of icy blue eyes appeared behind her eyelids.

* * *

"So how was detention last night?" Blaise asked as Draco sat down beside of him at the Slytherin table for breakfast.

Draco groaned in response before grabbing an apple off a platter and taking a bite.

"You know Parkinson is thrilled about you spending this much time with Daria," Blaise smirked.

Draco groaned again but didn't answer. He glanced down the Slytherin table a little ways to see Pansy glaring daggers at the Gryffindor table where Daria was sitting talking with her mudblood friend. She was almost as unobservant as Potter for not noticing Pansy's hatred for her.

"You know, it's really disturbing that you call her by her first name," Draco stated, his eyes staying on the Gryffinor table.

Blaise chuckled, "You're the one making goo-goo eyes at her on your dates with Pansy."

"Hey, that was all her," Draco defended.

"And what did you do? Scowl and flip her the bird?" Blaise replied sarcastically, raising an eyebrow.

Draco sneered and took another bite of his apple.

* * *

Daria and Hermione sat together at breakfast. Harry and Ron had decided to sleep in since practice went so long last night.

"So how are things with you and Ron these days?" Daria asked conversationally as she slathered her pancakes with enough syrup to make Hermione grimaced.

"Things are quite good," Hermione smiled.

"Have you kissed him yet?" Daria asked, still trying to sound casual.

Hermione's face fell, "That's awfully personal."

"Aw come on. I told you when Harry kissed me," Daria persisted, "Besides, you're my best friend. We can tell each other anything."

"No, Ron is your best friend," Hermione argued, "You only talk to me when you're having boy problems. So cut to the chase. What is it?"

Daria sighed, trying to figure out how much to tell her. She decided to leave out Draco completely and just talk about Harry.

"When Ron kisses you," Daria started, making Hermione blush, "How does it make you feel?"

"That's an odd question," Hermione replied raising an eyebrow, "Why do you ask?"

"Just curious," Daria lied.

"Well," Hermione began, "It feels like an electrical current is shooting out from him lips through my body."

Daria smiled, "Awww."

Hermione glared at her, "But you'd better not tell him I said that."

Daria shook her head, "Wouldn't dream of it."

"How do you feel when Harry kisses you?" Hermione asked, sensing the reason for Daria's question.

"Well there certainly isn't any electricity," Daria frowned, "But that's between me and you."

Hermione nodded before she continued, "And how about when you kiss Malfoy?"

Daria's eyes nearly popped out of her head as she stared incredulously at Hermione.

"I... I haven't kissed Malfoy," Daria whispered harshly, "Why would you think that?"

Hermione rolled her eyes, "I'm not stupid Daria."

Hermione gestured towards the Slytherin table with her head. Daria looked up and saw a pair of blue eyes staring at her before they quickly looked away. She felt her stomach jump up into her throat and swallowed hard, trying to get it to go back down.

She shot her eyes back to Hermione, who was watching her expectedly, "You're as daft as Harry if you haven't noticed the way he watches you."

"Does he do that often?" Daria asked nervously.

Hermione rolled her eyes again, "Just every time you're in eyesight of him."

Daria felt her stomach do flip flops and glanced back at the Slytherin table, but Draco was talking to Blaise and didn't see her.

"Are you going to tell me what that's all about?" Hermione pried.

"Honestly, Hermione, I'm not even sure myself," Daria replied while shaking her head to try to clear it. "But we should probably get to History of Magic to save seats for Harry and Ron."

Hermione nodded, dropping the subject, and the two girls gathered up their things and headed to class.

**A/N: So I was able to finish this chapter sooner than expected. Hope you liked it. The next one will be all about Draco and Daria so stay tuned and leave a review =)**


	17. The one with the staring

Daria and Hermione sat together in the front row when they got to Professor Binn's class, saving a seat on either side of them for Ron and Harry.

"Are you going to break up with Harry?" Hermione asked as she started unpacking her books.

Daria quickly glanced around the room to make sure no one had overheard her before she answered, "No, I hadn't planned on it. I like Harry."

"Well you're not going to cheat on him are you?" Hermione pressed, "You can't just go sneaking around with Malfoy behind his back."

Daria again looked around to make sure no one was listening in before whispering, "I don't plan on doing anything with Malfoy, Hermione."

Hermione raised her eyebrow but didn't push it.

"Morning beautiful," Harry greeted as he planted a kiss on Daria's cheek and took the seat next to her, draping his arm around her chair.

"Morning," Daria smiled.

Ron took the seat next to Hermione but didn't greet anyone. He just laid his head down on his desk and closed his eyes.

Professor Binns floated through the chalkboard and began writing information on it about the day's lesson.

The door to the classroom opened and the whole class looked up to watch Draco and Blaise wander in.

"Mr. Malfoy, Mr. Zabini, you are late," Professor Binns snapped with a frown.

"Sorry professor, won't happen again," Blaise reassured and they both made their way to the back row to take their seats.

Professor Binns went back to writing on the chalkboard and after a few minutes he announced the assignment.

"Copy these questions down and answer them from your books. This assignment is due by the end of class so get to work," he stated before he floated over to his desk to read a book. The class silently got to work.

Daria began coping down what was on the board but felt her eyes start to wander to the back row. She saw Draco sitting in the back with his feet up on his desk twirling his quill idly between his fingers; Blaise sat next to him, working diligently.

He immediately noticed her gaze and smirked, wagging his eyebrows. She turned quickly back to her parchment before he could see her blushing wildly. She mentally cursed herself for acting this way and told herself to keep her eyes on her desk for the rest of the class, but she didn't listen very well.

She found the answer to the first question and wrote it down, but when she went to look back up at the chalkboard to copy down the second question her eyes had other plans.

This time it looked like Draco had actually decided to start working on the assignment, as he was leaned over his desk scribbling on his parchment with his quill. After a few seconds he looked up into her eyes and raised a quizzical eyebrow at her before she watched his eyes start traveling over the rest of her body.

_Merlin he's being cocky today,_ Daria thought before she turned back to her work.

After that Daria was pretty sure he watched the back of her head the entire class because every time she glanced back at him her eyes immediately found his and he made it a point to wink, smirk, or do any other type of suggestive gesture every single time. She did take comfort in the fact, though, that he was probably going to fail this assignment for being so full of himself.

The rest of her classes were fairly uneventful. She made it a point to get to potions right on time so there would be no time for pre-class chit chat with anyone, especially Draco. Snape had the class work on an essay and she was successful in not talking or looking at Draco for the enter class, although she felt his eyes on her several times.

* * *

Daria trudged down to the potions class room after dinner and mentally kicked herself for being a few minutes early because it meant she got to have some alone time with Snape before Draco showed up.

"Well well well, Miss McVey. Is this the first time you've ever been early to anything your entire life?" Snape smirked as he prepared whatever torture he had decided for her today.

Daria smiled fakely back at him, "You know professor, I think it is. It must be because I just love spending time with you. You are my favorite teacher after all."

Snape sneered at her and they both turned to see Draco enter the room.

"Ah Mr. Malfoy, thank you for joining us," Snaped stated, "Sadly I don't have any potions for you two to grade today so you get to stare at the chalkboard for an hour in silence and twiddle your thumbs. I will be requiring your wands though, I don't want to have to break up another fight this evening."

Daria and Draco both handed Snape their wands before he went back to his office.

Daria shot a sideways glance at Draco who she found smirking at her.

"Did you have fun in History of Magic this morning?" he asked, his smirk widening. "You must think I'm awfully pretty since you couldn't keep your eyes to yourself."

"Can it Malfoy," she snapped as she glared at the chalkboard.

"Aw, now I thought we were past all this," he chuckled, "I figured you'd be wanting in my pants by now."

Daria resisted the urge to slap him, "I'm in a very happy relationship with Harry, so don't presume anything."

"Then why'd you look at me," he asked, raising an eyebrow and still smirking.

Daria threw her hands up in the air out of frustration, "And we're back on this!"

Daria heard him scoot his chair closer and she continued to glare at the air in front of her. He placed an elbow on the table and placed his head in his hand so he could look at her face. She allowed herself a quick glance at him and saw his smirk had been replaced by a serious expression.

"This is getting old," he sighed, "We still have two more days of this and we can't even go an hour without arguing."

Daria moved her eyes to his and raised an eyebrow, "Well what do you propose we do about it?"

"Lets agree not to lie to each other anymore," he stated, still looking serious, "You can ask me anything you want and I'll be honest. I'd like the same courtesy from you. I think it will make things a lot less frustrating."

Daria looked at him suspiciously, but couldn't help but be intrigued by his suggestion. She desperately wanted some answers but at the same time she was terrified at the idea of being honest with him and herself.

"Fine," she agreed, "But I want answers to all my questions first."

He nodded and kept his eyes locked on hers as he awaited her first question.

**A/N: Cliffhanger! Look for the next chapter, its sure to be juicy and leave me some good reviews!**


	18. The one with the interrogation

Daria nervously picked at her nails as she tried to remember what sort of questions she had for him. His icy blue eyes that were still staring straight at her made it even harder to concentrate as she imaged his lips below them. She could feel the butterflies dancing around her stomach under his gaze and desperately tried to get her brain to work.

She saw him smile slightly at her being so flustered, "Can't remember what you wanted to ask me?"

She went to shoot him a glare but got trapped in his beautiful eyes and momentarily forgot how to breathe.

"Why have you been staring at me?" she asked, quickly before she forgot it again.

He raised an eyebrow slightly, "I think if one of us has a staring problem, it's definitely you."

Daria pried her eyes away from his and shook her head, "Hermione said you've been watching me."

Draco smirked slightly before his face turned serious again, "Seems like Granger is much more observant than you and your other friends."

Daria didn't argue, but silently watched him, awaiting his answer.

Her adjusted his shirt collar nervously before he shrugged, "Because you're fun to look at, much prettier than Parkinson."

Daria felt her cheek growing hot and quickly brought her hands to them to try to hide it, but Draco noticed and smirked wildly.

His answer had made her think of another question though, so she pressed on, "Why are you dating that pug anyways?"

Draco looked momentarily stunned, obviously not anticipating the question, but quickly regained his smirk, "Why? Are you jealous?"

She shot him a sarcastic look, making him chuckle before he continued, "I'm not dating her, really. I mean she's not my girl friend or anything. I just keep her around because she thinks the sun shines out my ass and she's easy. She's annoying as hell though."

Daria felt her stomach drop at his words. Pansy was easy? So he was sleeping with her then? Of course he was, that was a stupid question. She shook her head as a vision of Draco's lips flashed through her head, only this time they were kissing fat pug lips instead of hers. She was silent for several minutes.

"Mind if I ask a question now?" he asked, watching her as she silently tried to think of what other questions she had for him. She couldn't remember any of them, so she just shook her head.

"Why did you look at me? In the tea shop?" he asked, and she felt his eyes on her and they bore into the side of her face.

She mentally kicked herself for not seeing this question coming and wished she had been able to think of more questions to delay it.

She sighed as she decided to be truthful, like they'd promised.

"Well..." she began and started twisting Harry's class ring around her finger idly, Draco's eyes immediately shot to it, "When Harry gave me his ring, it got me thinking about the future, a future that I had already seen, a future that I knew he wasn't in."

"So you second guessed yourself?" he gathered and she nodded her head.

"Because of me," he continued; it wasn't a question. She frowned but nodded slightly.

"Do you ever wonder what they were thinking?" he asked thoughtfully, referring to the future Draco and Daria.

"Every day," she sighed, "And it makes my life a hell of a lot more complicated."

"You know we aren't them," he stated, looking deep into her emerald eyes, making her heartbeat erratically, "But we could be."

Daria forgot how to breath as her heart lodged itself in her throat. She hadn't realized how close his face was, his eyes were only a few inches from hers, and she could feel his hot breath on her lips. She licked her lips and his eyes immediately darted toward them.

He looked back up into her eyes and slowly, cautiously began moving his face closer to hers. She froze as she realized what was happening.

She yelled at her brain to wake up, there was something very, very important she knew she was forgetting. A reason why couldn't let him kiss her, but all she could think about was how badly she wanted to feel his lips against hers.

A fresh gust of breath against her lips pulled her back into reality and she let out a gasp, realizing his lips were mere millimeters from hers.

"I can't do this," she whispered, pulling her head back slightly.

Draco looked down at her lips, then back up at her eyes before he let out a sigh and leaned back against his chair.

"I'm sorry," Daria sighed, "But I'm dating Harry and it would be a really bad move on my part to pursue anything with you while I'm with him."

"Don't worry about it," he shrugged, not meeting her eyes.

Daria bit her lip, trying to figure out what to do. She didn't want to destroy this openness they had now and she had a lot more questions for him. But most of all, she didn't want him to stop talking to her; she craved his voice.

"Let's start over," she began with a smile, "Hello, I'm Daria McVey. I'm a sixth year Gryffindor, I'm dating Harry Potter, I'm very unobservant, and I have an obsession with music. Want to be friends?"

Draco looked up at her like she was insane before he shook his head in amusement.

"Draco Malfoy's the name," he smirked. "I'm a Slytherin prince with a ton of money. I enjoy quidditch, long walks on the beach, and shagging. And I'll be anything you want me to be babe," he winked and extended his hand.

Daria rolled her eyes but gave him her hand, but instead of shaking it, he brought it to his lips and flashed his eyebrows at her.

She sighed in annoyance but couldn't hide her smile.

**A/N: Hope you liked it and aren't yelling at the screen too much at Daria not letting Draco kiss her. Leave me a review =)**


	19. The one with a magical leopluradon

He had done it. He had roped her in and she was in too deep to get out now. Suddenly the doe eyed girl in her vision didn't look so stupid. She started to envy that girl. She got to feel Draco's arms around her and his lip against hers without a care in the world. Daria wanted to be that girl, but she was so very afraid to be.

Dumping Harry for Draco would be a very careless move. Harry genuinely cared for her and she had no way to know if Draco's feelings were sincere or if he was just trying to get laid. So what if she didn't feel electricity when Harry kissed her? She could be happy with him. They got along and were compatible for each other. But how would she ever forgive herself if she didn't at least see what her future with Draco could hold. She'd seen the way her future self had looked at him and she knew she could never look at Harry that way.

Daria tossed and turned in her bed, trying to forget all her troubles and fall asleep but he brain and her heart were in overdrive, battling against each other. She looked at the clock to see it was already 3 am and she groaned while she buried her face in her pillow.

She didn't have to dive right into a relationship with Draco, did she? They could be friends, like they had agreed, and see where things went from there. That wasn't wrong. Was it? She had plenty of guy friends, and she wouldn't have to dump Harry. This seemed like the only logical course of action so she tried to stop over analyzing for the night. She took a drink from a glass of water on her bedside table, hoping to drown the butterflies, and tried to get some sleep.

* * *

Daria groggily opened her eyes to the sun coming through her window and immediately realized something was wrong. Her eyes darted towards her alarm and she saw it was already 8:45. She had missed breakfast and her first class started in 15 minutes.

She hoped out of bed and saw she was the only one in her dorm. She cursed Hermione for not waking her and quickly changed into her school robes before she pulled her hair back into a ponytail and ran out the door.

She sprinted the entire way to the History of Magic classroom but was still five minutes late. She stopped in front of the door for a moment to catch her breath before she entered, still panting.

"Ms. McVey," Professor Binns started as he looked up from his desk sternly at her, "This class started five minutes ago. And here I thought you'd turned over a new leaf this year."

"Sorry professor," Daria panted, "My alarm broke."

"Yes, yes," he rolled his eyes, "Your alarm broke, your watch is slow, your owl ate the hands off your clock, I've heard it all before. Ten points from Gryffindor, now please take your seat."

Daria walked over and took her seat between Harry and Hermione.

"Thanks for waking me up," Daria hissed as she elbowed Hermione.

"I tried to," Hermione whispered, "But you told me to go away or else you'd turn me into a toad."

* * *

Daria sauntered down to the dungeons that evening, not really caring that she was ten minutes late. She hadn't gotten to eat dinner because a leopluradon ate her back pack in COMC so her, Hagrid, and Blaise spent the evening at the lake trying to track it down.

"Miss McVey, I will not tolerate tardiness," Snape barked as Daria threw her soaked bag onto the ground and took her seat. "Perhaps you should try to be more like Mr. Malfoy. He's always on time."

Daria snorted but didn't respond. That was the overstatement of the year. Draco was late almost as often as she was.

Snape scowled, "Twenty points from Gryffinor and you're lucky I don't give you another detention."

He set a box of vials in front of Draco and Daria and a couple of toothbrushes, "Today you two will be cleaning these vials. I expect them all to be spotless before the hour is up."

Daria grumbled profanities to herself as soon as Snape was out the door as she tossed her bag onto the table and began going through it.

She grabbed her water-logged ipod first and mumbled a few more choice words before using a drying spell that thankfully brought it back to life. She hit shuffle and 'The Other Side' by Jason Derulo started playing before she started trying to salvage her books.

Draco watched in amusement for a few minutes before he spoke, "Bad day?"

"You have no idea!" Daria exclaimed, "First I overslept, missed breakfast, and was late to Binns' class. Then the crystal ball fell on my bloody toe in divinations and then a fucking leopluradon ate my backpack and made me miss potions and dinner. So I'm sleepy, hungry, my toe hurts, and all my crap is wet."

Draco chuckled slightly but stopped when she shot him a death glare.

"Here, let me help," he offered, pulling one of the wet books out of her bag.

She shot him another glare, "You'd better nice to that book."

He snorted before he muttered a drying spell and put it on top of her stack of now dry books.

They finished drying the contents of her bag and got to work on cleaning the vials.

"So," Daria started casually as she scrubbed the inside of a vial with the toothbrush, "I was thinking we could continue with our interrogation from last night."

Draco looked nervous for a second but quickly hid it, "Ok. What's on your mind?"

"Why aren't you trying to get back at me?" she asked, furrowing her eyebrows.

"Why do you keep asking questions I've already answered?" he rolled his eyes.

"Because you don't do a very good job of answering," she shot back.

"Well like I told you on the train," he began, "I was merely having a bit of fun and trying to teach you life lessons. You're the one who had to go take it all personally."

"You still didn't answer the question," she replied pointedly.

He sighed loudly, "Because I guess I just figured I deserved it and I didn't want to piss you off anymore because honestly, you're a little scary when you're angry."

"Well you did deserve it," Daria retorted, smiling smugly. "And I warned you not to mess with me. Not my fault you don't listen."

* * *

When the hour was up Snape came in to dismiss them and they both grabbed their bags. Daria started toward the great hall but Draco stopped her.

"Where are you going? The Gryffindor common room is that way," he asked, nodding in the opposite direction of where she was going.

"I'm famished. I'm going to go get some food from the kitchen," she shrugged. The only time she had eaten today was at lunch.

"You know where the kitchen is?" he asked, raising an eyebrow and looking a little impressed.

"Draco, my friends and I found the chamber of secrets. Do you really think I wouldn't know where something as inconsequential as the kitchen was?" she retorted. She decided it would be best not to mention that Harry was also in procession of the marauder's map and she knew about every secret passage in the school.

"Mind if I come?"

His question threw her off guard for a minute, because she had half expected him to rat her out to Snape, but she nodded her head and he followed her towards the kitchen.

She tickled the pear in the portrait and they entered to find that all the tables were covered in left over food from dinner.

"Jack pot!" Daria announced and she made her way over to a juicy looking untouched turkey at the Slytherin table.

"This is amazing," Draco beamed as he took in the room before sitting down beside her.

They both filled their plates with a Thanksgiving worthy spread and dug in.

"So I have another question," Daria stated as she poured them both some pumpkin juice.

He raised his eyebrow suspiciously, "How does that not surprise me?"

She took a sip from her goblet before she continued, "On the train, when I mentioned your father, why did you get so offended?"

Daria saw Draco tense up beside her before he answered, "Because you basically called me a death eater."

She raised her eyebrow, "Aren't you?"

"No," he hissed through gritted teeth, "And I don't ever want to be."

Daria must have looked bewildered because he continued, "My father kills innocent people for sport. He's a murderer and I never want to be anything like him, especially a death eater."

Daria felt the need to comfort him and placed her hand on his shoulder, reassuringly, "You don't have to be like your father if you don't want to Draco. You can decide to be who ever you want to be."

Draco gave her a sad smile, "I'd like to think that."


	20. The one where Draco dances with a mop

Daria walked down to potions class with Blaise the next day with bittersweet feelings about her last detention being that night. She was excited about not having to go to detention anymore but she was worried that after tonight she wouldn't get any time with Draco again.

She took her seat between Draco and Blaise while Blaise kept up their conversation.

"So are you excited about the big quidditch game tomorrow?" he asked with a grin.

"Of course," she smiled back, "We're going to kick Slytherin's ass."

Blaise chuckled, "Not a chance. I think I actually got Crabbe and Goyle to start aiming for the right team last practice."

Daria scoffed, "Great, guess that means they'll really beat me bloody this game." She thought about how she had never come back from a game against Slytherin uninjured. At best she had a handful of cuts and bruises and at worst a broken bone.

"They'd better not or I'll take those bloody bats to their skulls," he threatened.

Daria gave him a small smile but wasn't reassured. Crabbe and Goyle didn't listen to anyone during games, even Malfoy and Madam Hooch.

Snape walked in and the class fell silent.

"Today you will be making the ludus-potion," he announced, "It's essentially a laughing potion. It will make anything and everything appear humorous. The instructions are on page three hundred ninety five. Get to work."

Draco went up and got the ingredients and he and Daria got to work.

"Don't worry about Crabbe and Goyle," Draco stated under his breath so only Daria could hear, "I think they are progressively getting worse at hitting things. It's Urquhart and Vaisey, our two new chasers, that you've got to worry about. They are brutal and couldn't play a fair game if their lives depended on it. But I'll try to keep them in check."

"Yeah good luck with that," Daria sighed as she grounded up some snake's tail, "In case you haven't noticed your team is never really in check."

"You shouldn't worry too much. This game you'll have at least four guys on the field who are going to try to keep you safe," he replied. She paused and counted on her fingers, making Draco smile in amusement.

After they finished the potion Daria started people watching again. They were one of the last pairs to finish this time because they talked so much. Goyle and Pike's potion was smoking slightly and Pike was eyeing it fearfully like it might decide to leap out at him at any moment.

Snape handed out cups and made everyone drink some of their own potion. Daria and Draco both downed theirs and Daria watched in amusement as Goyle took a sip of his own steaming potion and tried to get Pike to as well, but he was shaking his head violently in protest.

Suddenly, Goyle and Pike's potion exploded, spewing all over the classroom, which made everyone in the class bust out into uncontrollable laughter under the effects of the potion, except Goyle. He started squealing like a little girl and broke out into tears, presumably from the bad potion, which only made the class laugh harder.

Snape started yelling at Pike and Goyle which only made him start crying harder, this time in short, loud, high pitched sobs. Finally once Goyle had had enough he got up and ran screaming and crying towards the door but instead ran right into a wall and fell down onto the floor unconscious. The classroom was in an uproar and everyone was doubled over in laughter, some even falling out of their chairs.

"Class dismissed!" Snape yelled over the roar of laughter.

Daria went to grab her bag but Snape stopped her, "Not you two!" he shouted, pointing to her and Draco.

Snape hurried over to their table so he could address them without yelling. "You two will serve your detention this hour because I don't trust either of you to come back after dinner under the effects of the potion," he summoned two mops and handed them to them. "Clean up this mess and if you get it done quickly I'll excuse you early so you can make it to dinner."

Daria attempted to let out a sigh of frustration but it sounded more like a hiccup beneath her giggles. Snape left the room, leaving Goyle unconscious on the floor.

Her and Draco began mopping, still trying to stifle their giggles. After a few minutes, Daria realized how quiet it was and pulled out her ipod, selecting 'Here's to never growing up' by Avril Lavigne.

She nudged Goyle's head with the toe of her boot to make sure he was really out before she started talking to Draco, "You sure know how to pick your friends."

Draco chuckled, "There's a big difference between friend and lackey."

"So you only keep him and Crabbe around to do your evil bidding? Maybe hide a few bodies in the freezer?" she smirked making them both start laughing.

"He serves his purpose," Draco shrugged after he was able to compose himself, "People tend to not mess with you when you have two fat guys with unibrows flanking you."

"I think people might be slightly less intimidated after today," Daria giggled as she nudged Goyle's head again with her boot.

"You look cute in combat boots," Draco stated, "But I don't think they follow the dress code guidelines."

Daria shrugged, "No one's ever said anything about them. I don't think a lot of people really look at your feet when you are wearing robes."

"You get away with just about everything don't you?" he smirked.

"Not everything," Daria countered, "I'm in detention aren't I?"

They continued mopping for a few minutes until the song changed to 'We Are Young.'

Draco looked up a raised an eyebrow, "This song seems to come on a lot."

"Yeah, it's my favorite," Daria shrugged.

Draco thought for a moment before he spoke again, "Dance with me."

She looked up at him like he had grown three heads, "We're in the middle of the potions classroom, covered in goo, with Goyle laying unconscious on the floor. I don't think now's the best time for dancing."

"It's always a good time for dancing," he grinned, "Come on, don't make me dance with my mop."

Daria broke out into giggles as he started swaying with the mop.

"Come on," he insisted, "I'm supposed to be your friend now. So if you're allowed to dance with Weaselbee and Blaise, surely you can spare me one dance."

Daria chewed on her lip in deliberation for a moment before she dropped her mop and sashayed over to his open arms.

He began to twirl her around the classroom to the music.

"I thought of another reason why Pansy tried to turn you into a troll at the Halloween Ball," Draco started.

Daria raised her eyebrow, urging him to continue.

"I might have gotten mad at her for stepping on my feet so much and told her that you were a much better dancer that she is," he replied innocently.

Daria started laughing again, "Poor Pansy. And she tries so hard."

Draco chuckled, "She really doesn't have any redeeming qualities though. She's a terrible dancer, she has an awful personality, and she looks like something you'd find at the pound. Poor girl doesn't have anything going for her."

"That's mean Draco," Daria scolded, but she couldn't control her giggles.

Daria looked back up at him after she had managed to control her laughter and saw his blue eyes staring at her. She looked into those icy orbs and immediately got lost in them.

"Break up with Potter," he pleaded, his voice barely louder than a whisper.

Daria felt her body begin to tingle all over at his words and suddenly his hands, one in hers and the other on her waist, felt like electrical conductors. Her mouth forgot how to work as she stared at him in awe. If that wasn't a clear sign that he wanted to be with her, she didn't know what was.

"What in Merlin's name are you two doing?!" Snape demanded as he appeared behind them, "You are supposed to be mopping, not dancing! You two obviously didn't make your potion correctly."

Daria pulled away from Draco and pocketed her ipod before Snape decided to confiscate it.

"Sorry professor," Draco mumbled before picking up both mops from the floor.

"Both of you just get out of my classroom. I don't want to see either of you until Monday," Snape snapped, grabbing the mops from Draco.

Daria flung her bag over her shoulder and went to leave but paused at the sight of Goyle.

"Sir?" she asked, "What about Goyle?"

Snape shot Goyle's unconscious form a quick glance before he too went to leave the classroom, "Just leave him there. He'll wake up eventually."

* * *

Daria headed back to the Gryffindor common room to find Harry, Ron, and Hermione already there, discussing the plans for the post game celebration. They all looked up as she walked in.

"Wow, you got done early," Ron commented after glancing at his watch.

"Yeah, Snape had us mop through dinner," Daria shrugged, "What'd I miss?"

"Just making the refreshment arrangements," Harry answered as he scribbled a few things down on a roll of parchment.

"Well we'll definitely need some fire whiskeys," Daria stated, "And maybe some butterbeers for those with weak stomachs."

"Good idea," Ron chirped, "Harry write that down."

"That's a terrible idea," Hermione argued, "We can't sneak alcohol into the common room."

"I agree with Hermione," Harry added, "We'll have first years here and everything."

"So?" Daria retorted, "That doesn't stop the Slytherins."

"Yeah," Ron agreed, "I can get Fred and George to send some by owl."

"Last time I checked, we weren't Slytherins," Harry snapped, "No booze and that's final."

Daria and Ron both rolled their eyes.

"Party pooper," Daria mumbled before she pulled out her ipod and turned on 'Stereo Hearts' by Gym Class Heroes.

"Ooo this is a good song," Ron smiled, turning it up slightly.

"Will you two turn that off," Harry growled, "I can't concentrate with that crap playing."

Daria turned it down slightly but didn't turn it off, "Someone's cranky this evening."

"Well you too are being more of a hindrance than a help," Harry sighed, as he tried to focus on his party list.

"Harry's right," Hermione nodded, "Why don't you two go do something else while we talk."

"Merlin, you'd think they like each other better than they like us," Ron rolled his eyes after him and Daria had moved to the other end of the common room, so they wouldn't disturb their significant others.

"Do you ever think about me and you just going off on our own? We're obviously the ones holding this gang together," Daria sighed.

"Oh, all the time," Ron nodded, "But they'd be so boring without us."

Daria and Ron hung out for a while in silence, just enjoying the music that no one else appreciated, which gave Daria's brain plenty of time to run wild. She was going to dump Harry, but she was going to wait until after the game so he it wouldn't affect how he played if he took it badly. She needed the electricity and knew she would never be happy without it.

**A/N: Hope you enjoyed it, please leave me some good reviews. The next chapter will be the Gryffindor vs Slytherin game.**


	21. The one with the quidditch game

Daria groggily tromped down to the great hall in her quittage uniform and took a seat at the Gryffindor table. Hermione was the only one of her friends that was already at breakfast

"Morning Mione," Daria yawned as she grabbed some toast and began buttering it.

"Morning," Hermione smiled, "How was your detention last night?"

Daria grinned, "Pretty eventful. Goyle started crying and knocked himself unconscious during potions so I had to try to mop around his head while giggling from the potion we'd made."

Hermione shook her head, "You know that's not what I'm talking about."

"Yeah I know," Daria smiled, before she took a bite of toast.

"Morning Harry," she greeted as Harry sat down beside her.

"Morning Daria, Hermione," Harry replied, before turning to face Daria, "Hey, I'm sorry I snapped at you last night. I'm just tense about the game. Are you mad at me?"

Daria smiled, "Of course not Harry, we all have our off days."

Daria really wasn't mad at him but last night it had occurred to her just how different Harry and Draco were, and also how different her and Harry were.

"Ready to kick some Slytherin broom?" Ron beamed as he sat down next to Hermione, putting his arm around her. They were such a cute couple. Even though they were totally awkward, anyone could see they were crazy about each other.

"You know it," Daria beamed, "They don't stand a chance with our new keeper guarding the goals!"

Ron turned crimson and started muttering as he shoved scrabbled eggs into his mouth.

* * *

The Gryffindor quidditch team marched out onto the field where the Slyterin team was already waiting. Daria, Katie, and Ginny all flew up to where the Slytherin chasers were hovering and waited for Madam Hooch.

Vaisey and Urquhart were glaring menacingly at them. Blaise shot Daria an apologetic look.

Madam Hooch strolled out onto the field and released the snitch and bludgers. Then she made Draco and Harry shake hands and instructed that she wanted a 'clean game' from them. _Yeah right._

Then she blew her whistle and threw the quaffle into the air while Harry and Draco kicked off in search for the snitch.

Daria dove down and snatched up the quaffle and began speeding toward to Slytherin goals, but Vaisey and Urquhart were right on her. Her eyes flitted around for her teammates and noticed Ginny was below her. Daria quickly dropped the quaffle down to her before the two Slytherin chasers sandwiched her together roughly.

"Oye, get off! I don't even have the quaffle numb nuts!" Daria yelled and she hit at both of them to try to get them off.

They both pulled back and Urquhart gave her a greasy smirk before they flew off to harass Ginny who had just scored a goal.

Blaise had the quaffle now and was flying toward Ron, so Daria shot off after him.

"You're going down Zabini," Daria called as she got up beside him.

"You think so?" Blaise laughed, his eyes still focused on the goal posts, "And what are you going to do?"

"This!" Daria yelled before she flew right into his path and snatched the quaffle from his hands before doing a u-turn and shooting back towards the Slytherin goals.

She heard the whistle of a bludger approaching and ducked down just as it went shooting past where her head had just been. She continued toward the goals and spotted Vaisey to her right. She leaned forward and sped toward the goals, not even noticing Crabbe until he hit her in the left arm with his bat, forcing her to drop the quaffle.

"Do I look like a bloody bludger to you?!" Daria shouted, clutching her throbbing left shoulder where the bat had hit. He just gave her an evil grin and flew off toward Katie.

Luna announced that Slytherin had made their first goal and Daria cursed under her breath as she flew towards the other end of the field to try to help Katie, who now had the quaffle.

The game continued in this fashion for over an hour while Harry and Draco searched perilously for the snitch. Daria was ready for a nap but wasn't sure if that was because of exhaustion or because of a possible concussion from a bludger to the head. Her left arm was throbbing and swollen, she was sure Crabbe had broken something in her shoulder but she was still able to delicately hold the quaffle in it, which she now had possession of.

Urquhart stayed right on her the whole way down the field; she tried every evasive maneuver she could manage with one arm but couldn't lose him. He was right beside her on her left and coming closer so she gripped her broom and prepared to dive before she felt his hands on her bad arm. In one swift move he yanked the quaffle away and pushed her off her broom.

She let out a shrieked and was miraculously able to catch herself with her good arm, while her left arm hung uselessly at her side.

"Oh no! It looks like Daria McVey has fallen off her broom. Oh I hope she doesn't fall, it's certainly a long way down," she heard Luna say over the loudspeaker.

Daria looked down at the ground and gulped. She was very high up from trying to get away from Urquhart. She tried to tighten her grip on her broom handle and pull herself back up but her hand was slick with sweat and she was having trouble keeping hold of it.

"It looks like Harry Potter has spotted the snitch!" Luna announced and the crowd went wild.

Daria felt her fingers start to slide and she clawed desperately at her broom, trying to keep hold but she couldn't feel the wood beneath her fingers anymore as she felt herself begin to fall.

Suddenly a hand grabbed her wrist and caught her, just as she had lost hold of her broom. Daria looked up, expecting to see a fellow chaser, or Ron, or maybe even Blaise but was shocked as she looked up into Draco's icy blue eyes.

"Harry Potter has caught the snitch!" Luna yelled over the speakers, "Gryffindor wins!"

The stadium shook with the roar of the crowd as Draco helped Daria back onto her broom. She gave him a grateful smile before he flew off toward his team members, who were all looking irate.

Ron and Harry helped Daria to the hospital wing where Madam Pomfrey treated her shoulder and head but she wouldn't let her leave to go to the party in the Gryffindor common room.

"Sorry you got so banged up," Harry sighed as he sat in a chair beside Daria's hospital bed, "Malfoy really needs to control his pack of mutts better."

Harry hadn't seen. He hadn't seen Draco catch her. He had been too busy going after the snitch to notice. Her own boyfriend hadn't even noticed that she nearly fell right out of the sky, but Draco had thrown the game to save her.

"Harry, I think we should break up," the words shot out of Daria's mouth before she even knew what she was saying. She blamed the head injury.

Harry shrugged, "Yeah, I guess it's been a long time coming."

Daria sat there in shocked silence for a moment. So it wasn't just her, he had noticed that things were progressively getting worse too. She'd thought it was all because of her feelings for Draco but Harry must have sensed that there was nothing between the two of them as well.

"I'd really love to still be friends though," Daria smiled.

"Always," Harry grinned back before he pulled her into a hug and gave her a peck on the check.

**A/N: So now that Harry is out of the picture who knows what will happen with Daria and Draco. Next part should be up soon. Leave me some reviews!**


	22. The one with the note

Daria took her seat between Draco and Blaise in potions on Monday, after being released from the hospital wing that afternoon.

"How are you feeling?" Blaise asked, as she sat down.

"Like I got tossed of the astronomy tower," Daria grumbled, "I've got a killer headache."

"I tried to beat Crabbe and Goyle with their bats after the game but Madam Hooch confiscated them," Blaise frowned making Daria smile.

"Aw, thanks mate," Daria grinned, "I wish I could've seen it."

"It was hilarious to watch Goyle scream like a little girl again when I started chasing them," Blaise laughed.

"Silence!" Snape commanded as he slithered into the room.

"I want to see 30 essays on my desk about the uses of wormwood by the end of class," he instructed. "There will be no talking..." he shot a glare at Daria and Draco, "Or dancing. Get to work!"

Daria tried to hide a snort that escaped under a cough but it still drew a few odd looks in her direction. She quickly pulled out some parchment and a quill and started on her essay.

The room was completely silent except for the scratching of quills and flipping of pages and Daria about jumped out of her skin with she felt something brush against her hand that was laying in her lap.

She glanced down and saw Draco's hand on top of hers and felt a shiver run down her spine at his touch. He discretely slipped something into her hand before pulling his back and starting back on his essay. She had the urge to grab his hand back but fought it.

She examined what he had given her and turned it over in her hand. It was a folded up piece of parchment, probably a note. She quickly slipped it into her pocket, deciding that it would be best to open it after class, away from Snape.

The note felt like a boulder in her pocket as she walked to the girls' bathroom after potions. She resisted just reaching into her pocket and reading it right there, in the hallway.

Once she got to the bathroom she did a quick check under the stalls to make sure she was alone before she pulled the note out of her pocket and began unfolding it. She could feel the butterflies dancing around in her stomach as she read it.

_My evenings are suddenly free and I'd really like to see you. Meet me in the astronomy tower tonight at eleven._

He wanted her to meet him tonight, alone, in the astronomy tower. She felt a goofy grin spread across her face as she carefully tucked the note back into her pocket. She took a few minutes to settle her stomach before she exited the bathroom and headed to the great hall for dinner.

Daria took a set next to Ron and across from Hermione and Harry.

"So Daria," Ron started, "I heard you dumped Harry."

"Ron, I already told you, it was a mutual thing," Harry grumbled.

Ron rolled his eyes and whispered the next part to Daria, "I think he's bitter that you dumped him."

Daria chortled and took a bite of her sandwich. Ron started talking animatedly to Harry about who he should date next and Daria let her eyes wonder to the table across the hall.

She noticed the back of Pansy's head sitting across from Draco. Her hair was bobbing around quickly as it appeared she was yelling at him.

Draco was carelessly peeling an orange with a bored expression, probably tuning her out. His eyes kept rolling up to the ceiling.

Blaise was sitting beside Draco, watching in amusement and adding comments here and there that seemed to make Pansy shake more and Draco's eyes linger on the ceiling longer.

Daria watched with a small smile of amusement that she was trying to hide, lest her friends wonder what was so funny and follow her gaze.

After a particularly long eye roll, Draco's eyes scanned the hall and found hers. Daria felt her heart start to race as he consumed her with his eyes, watching her curiously.

Then suddenly his eyes were gone and a pair of angry, beady brown ones replaced them. Daria realized it was Pansy, who had turned to glare daggers at her. Daria quickly looked away and back to her friends.

After a moment she dared to give the Slytherin table another glance to find Pansy shaking so hard it looked like she was convulsing, Draco spitting words back at her with a scowl, and Blaise clutching his sides in laughter.

Daria smirked at the scene before she started talking to Hermione about their History homework.

* * *

Daria laid in bed that night, anxiously glancing at the clock every 30 seconds. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, she heard Hermione's breathing slow down and knew she was asleep like the rest of the girls in the dorm.

Daria hoped out of bed, fully clothed, and once again checked the cloak. It was 10:45; she needed to hurry. She pulled a long black cloak over her shoulders to make her harder to spot in the dark corridors and pulled the hood up over her curly red hair.

She floated down the stairs to the common room but froze when she spotted Harry asleep on one of the couches. She tip toed past him and prayed the door didn't creak as she reached for it.

_Creeeeeeaaaaakkkkkk_

"Muggle-fucker," Daria hissed and shot her eyes to the couch. Harry groaned and rolled over but after a second he began snoring again.

Daria exhaled a breath she'd been holding in and closed the portrait behind her as she disappeared into the corridors.

She glided soundlessly up the long winding staircase to the top of the astronomy tower.

She closed the door behind her when she entered and saw Draco leaning against the railing, looking up at the stars.

"You're late," she could see his smirk even though his back was still turned to her.

"Yeah, well I had to get past everyone and their brother to get here," Daria sighed as she pulled her hood down and let if fall onto her back.

He turned to face her, leaning against his elbows on the rail.

"No music today?" he raised his eyebrow.

Daria silently shook her head but couldn't think of anything to reply with. She looked into his eyes and got lost again.

"I broke up with Harry," she blurted before giving herself a mental face palm. _Smooth_.

"Oh?" he asked, still smirking.

She nodded, again at a loss for words as his eyes bore into hers.

Suddenly he was in front of her and his lips were on hers. She froze as a thrilling sensation shot through her lips and spreading over her entire body. She felt him wrap his strong arms around her waist and her brain decided to switch back on.

She kissed him back with all the feeling she'd been holding in over the past week and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer.

She felt her back collide with a nearby wall and he moved one of his hands to her cheek and the other to her outer thigh. He flicked his tongue against her lips and she opened them, letting his tongue glide into her mouth.

He kissed her hungrily and ran the hand that had been on her cheek through her hair. She felt his other hand start trailing up her skirt.

She breathlessly pulled away from him and pulled his hand off of her thigh. "I'm not ready for this," she breathed.

"Okay," he whispered. He planted another tender kiss on her lips before he pulled away and went to lean on the railing again.

Daria leaned against the wall for a few minutes, trying to catch her breath, Draco's eyes on her the entire time.

Daria decided that conversation would be the best course of action to break the tension, something casual, and brought up the first thing that popped into her head.

"It looked like you were having fun at dinner tonight," she smiled as she remembered the annoyed look on Draco's face and Blaise looking like he was about to pee himself.

Draco sighed, "Oh yes, very fun. I love listening to Pansy bitch and moan. She really doesn't like you very much."

"What did I do this time?" Daria asked, innocently.

"Well, you didn't fall to your death at the game," he shrugged, with a small amused smile. "Then you just had to go and check me out at dinner, that really set her off. And of course Blaise wasn't making things any better."

"What does Blaise know?" she asked, curiously.

"Blaise doesn't know anything," he replied, seriously, "He thinks he knows a whole lot though; and he thinks there is a lot more going on between us than there is."

"What is going on between us?" Daria asked, looking up into his eyes.

Draco shrugged, "How should I know? You're the one who just dumped your boyfriend for me."

"I didn't dump him for you," she protested, "I dumped him because him and I are too different and I didn't have any romantic feelings for him."

"Uh huh," Draco smirked.

Daria chose to ignore him as another thought entered her head, "What about Pansy?"

"What about her?"

"Are you going to keep sleeping with her?" she pressed.

"Depends," he smirked, "Are you going to sleep with me?"

"I wouldn't count on it, slick," she replied.

"Then I wouldn't count on Pansy going away," he shrugged.

"Well then, I wouldn't count on me kissing you again," she shot, making him drop his smirk. "I'm not that kind of girl."

"Fine," he growled, "Pansy's out. Anything else?"

"Just one more thing," Daria smirked.

Draco sighed in anticipation of what she could possibly want him to give up next, "What?"

"Thank you," she smiled and walked over so she was standing directly in front of him, "For catching me."

He smiled back as he wrapped his arms around her waist, "I'll always be there to catch you."

She felt her cheeks grow hot before she leaned forward and brushed her lips against his.

**A/N: I really hope you enjoyed this one. Some of the original story line is finally coming into play (this is a revision) so things should get more interesting as the story progresses. Leave me a review if you liked it.**


	23. The one where Hermione yells

"Where were you last night?!" Hermione shouted in Daria's ear making her jump out of her peaceful sleep.

"Ahhh!" Daria yelled,"Are you bloody mental, Hermione? I was trying to sleep."

"You were gone part of last night and I want to know where you went," Hermione demanded, putting her hands on her hips.

"Who are you? My mother?" Daria grumbled as she tried to pull her pillow over her head to make Hermione go away. Hermione ripped it from her hands and threw it onto the floor.

"Where were you?" she repeated sternly.

Daria yawned and tried to accept the fact that she wouldn't be getting anymore sleep. "I went for a walk," she lied, "I couldn't sleep."

"I don't believe you," Hermione snapped, "Who did you go to the astronomy tower with?"

Daria shot straight up to a sitting position and looked at Hermione in shock, "How did you..."

Hermione held up the note that had been in Daria's pocket, "You were with Malfoy, weren't you?!"

"You really shouldn't go through people's stuff," Daria glared.

"It was on the floor," Hermione shot back. "What are you thinking, Daria?" she asked, a little softer, "He is not a good person for you to get involved with."

"He's different around me," Daria whispered, still glaring at her bedspread.

"I'm sure you're not the first girl to believe that," Hermione replied. "And weren't you hexing him just last week?"

"I can't explain it, Hermione," Daria sighed, "But I'd appreciate if you didn't tell anyone about this."

"Of course not," Hermione reassured. "But you need to be careful, Daria. Malfoy has a bad reputation for a reason and I don't want you to end up getting hurt."

Daria nodded solemnly before she grabbed her robes and headed to the bathroom for a shower.

* * *

"Quidditch practice after dinner," Harry announced as he took a seat across from Daria, beside Ron.

"Our game against Ravenclaw is in two weeks," he continued, " And I want to make up for not being able to practice before the Slytherin game. So keep your evenings clear this week and next so we can practice as much as possible."

Daria and Ron groaned in unison.

"Are you kidding me?" Daria complained. "We have exams coming up and the teachers are packing on the homework. We'll hardly have time to eat and sleep."

"You can do that over Christmas break," Harry replied.

Ron rolled his eyes, "Not if you kill us with all these practices."

* * *

That afternoon Daria and Blaise sprinted down the halls to potions class. They had gotten marooned on a landing after all the staircases had decided to move away from it.

"Mr. Zabini, Miss McVey, you are late," Snape hissed as they entered his class, panting.

"Sorry, sir," Blaise replied, "The staircases changed around on us and we got stuck on the fourth floor."

"Very well," Snape grumbled. "Take your seats. 10 points will be taken from Gryffindor."

"What!?" Daria argued, "Why am I the only one getting points docked?"

"Because, Miss McVey, you did not have an excuse," Snape retorted, smugly.

"I was trapped on a landing!" she shouted.

"That was Mr. Zabini's excuse," he scowled, "I will not tolerate cheating and back talk in my class. 15 more points will be taken from the Gryffindor house. Now I suggest you take your seat."

Daria shot him a death glare before stomping loudly to her seat beside Draco. He watched her but was unsure whether he should be amused, impressed, or scared for her because of what Snape might do.

Daria slouched down into her seat and crossed her arms, still glaring at Snape who was smirking proudly.

"Today you will be making the drought of the living dead," Snape announced, "Do NOT drink this one," he shot a harsh look at Goyle.

Draco went up to get the supplies, afraid of what Daria might do if Snape talked to her again and they started working.

"I want to see you tonight," he whispered as they crushed sopophorous beans.

Daria smiled at his request before she remembered what Harry had said at breakfast. "I can't tonight, Harry has us practicing."

She heard him sigh under his breath, "Well what day can you make it then?"

"I don't know," she replied with a frown, "Harry wants to practice as much as possible before our next match. Then I also have to study for exams. So I might not be able to come to the tower until the weekend at the earliest."

"That's a long ways away," he muttered, in disappointment.

"We'll figure something out," she smiled reassuringly.

He smiled back slightly before she felt his hand against hers. He intertwined his fingers with hers. She felt her stomach start doing flip flops again as they went back to working on their potion.

**A/N: Sorry this one was a bit on the short side. I'll try to make the next one longer and it should be up soon. You might have also noticed that I went through and gave all the chapters titles so hopefully it will be easier to keep track of which part you are on and also so you can go back to your favorites easier.**


	24. The one with the ginger babies

Daria collapsed into the library chair next to Hermione, dead on her feet. She'd had extremely rigorous practices for the past two evenings and she still had three essays to write.

She pulled out her quill and ink, along with her History of Magic textbook, before she decided just to lay her head down on the table and take a nap instead.

"Long day?" Hermione asked, from behind her book.

"That's a huge understatement," Daria sighed as she tried to remember which of her other classes she had essays in. Hagrid and Prof. Trelawney never gave essays so Snape must have assigned two of them.

She hadn't gotten to be alone with Draco since their meeting in the astronomy tower, when they'd had their first kiss. She was beginning to miss detention. Not only had she been able to see Draco every day, but also the detentions had been considerably easier than the quidditch practices.

"Harry's trying to kill us!" Ron groaned as he took a seat at their table. "He had us run laps. LAPS! Quidditch is played on bloody broom sticks!"

"I'm not trying to kill you," Harry argued as he too sat down at the table, "But someone has got to whip you guys into shape. You two had way too many sweets this summer. You couldn't even make it a kilometer."

"That's because we're flyers, not runners!" Daria complained.

Harry rolled his eyes but didn't respond as he unpacked a few books from his bag and began working on his essay.

"Oh Daria, I just remembered something," Hermione started, "Seamus Finnigan asked me to find out if you had a date to the hogsmeade trip."

"And the wolves descend!" Ron chuckled.

Daria raised her eyebrow at him, "What do you mean?"

"Well now that you and Harry are broken up, you're going to have all the single guys in the school jumping up and down to go out with you," Ron explained with an amused smile.

"What makes you say that?" Daria asked, still confused.

"Do you have any idea how many times Ron and I got asked if you and Harry had broken up yet while you were dating?" Hermione sighed, "They tended to get worse around big events like the last hosmeade trip and the Halloween ball."

"You're exaggerating," Daria chuckled, while turning pink.

Ron and Hermione both shook their heads seriously.

"Hell, I even had guys ask me if you were single before we broke up," Harry laughed, "Apparently you're a hot commodity around here."

Daria rolled her eyes, before smirking, "Well none of that matters. I've already picked out who my next lover will be."

"Oh?" Harry asked, Ron and Hermione both leaned forward in interest.

"Mmhmm," Daria smiled, "One day Hermione and Ron are going to have a big fight over something stupid and when they do, I'll be there."

Ron and Harry both starting laughing, Hermione just shook her head in amusement.

"See Mione," Ron beamed, "I told you other girls found me attractive."

"She's joking, Ronald," Hermione rolled her eyes. Ron's face fell.

"Am not!" Daria laughed, "Ron, someday you and I will get married and have twenty beautiful ginger babies and we will name them all names that begin with W. Like Walter Weasley."

"Or Wendy Weasley," Ron smiled.

"Or Wesley Weasley," Daria giggled.

"Oh, nice one!" Ron complimented.

Suddenly Ron's face turned serious as he looked at something across the room.

"Don't look now, Daria," he whispered, tensely, "But Malfoy is looking at you."

Daria's, Harry's, and Hermione's heads all snapped toward the direction Ron was looking in.

"I said not to look!" he hissed.

Daria caught a glimpse of Draco's blue eyes before he turned his face away from her, probably noticing that everyone at her table was now looking at him.

"What does that git want?" Harry spat after he turned his head away from Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle's table.

Daria shrugged, "Who knows. Probably trying to come up with his next witty comeback."

The boys nodded and turned back to their work but Hermione watched Daria expectedly for a moment, she looked almost worried, before she tucked her face back into her book.

* * *

Daria sauntered into potions class the next day and took her seat between Draco and Blaise, but not before shooting Snape a nasty look.

"You look like hell," Blaise chuckled as Daria halfheartedly began emptying her book bag.

"You already told me that in Diviniations," Daria rolled her eyes.

"Yes, but you seem to be progressively deteriorating as the day wears on," Blaise chuckled harder as she shot him a glare.

"I didn't get any sleep last night," Daria yawned, "I had to write three essays after practice yesterday. My hand feels like it was beaten with a sledge hammer."

Snape silenced the class, "Take out your quills and parchment. Today you'll be writing an essay about how Felix Felicis is made. Two rolls minimum and it's due at the end of class."

Daria groaned loudly in protest.

"5 points from Gryffindor, Miss McVey," Snape hissed, causing a few students in her house to turn to glare at her, "Now get started."

Daria opened her book and started scribbling down the first paragraph she found with the word Felix Felicis in it. She propped her head up with her hand and tried to keep her eyes open, but felt her lids start growing heavy. The words in her book became blurry as she struggled to maintain consciousness.

She felt something warm on her leg and pried her eyes open enough to look down under her table.

Draco's hand was on her thigh, stroking her skin idly, making sure to keep a respectful distance from her hemline, as he continued to work on his paper. She flashed him a small smile before going back to her own essay, now able to keep her eyes open much easier. Although she was still having difficulty concentrating as her mind kept imagining what his hands might feel like against the rest of her skin.

After potions, Draco darted out of the classroom. Daria slowly trudged out and stood outside the door for a moment debating whether she wanted dinner or a nap. There was no practice that night so Daria turned toward the Gryffindor common room and sleepily made her way up the stairs.

She dragged her feet along the corridors, not really watching where she was going. Suddenly she felt something wrap around her arm and she was pulled into a broom closet.

She opened her mouth to scream but caught sight of Draco's pale blond hair in the dim light and exhaled.

"You scared the magic out of me!" she exclaimed and felt her pulse throbbing in her neck.

He smirked as he narrowed the space between them, "Sorry, love. I didn't mean to startle you."

He gently tucked her hair behind her ear and brushed his lips against her neck which didn't help slow her racing heart.

"I wanted to steal some alone time with you before you went to bed," his hot breath hit her neck, making her shiver, "I've been dying to kiss you again for days."

She felt her heart flutter in her chest and suddenly felt an overwhelming longing to feel his lips. He read her mind and pushed her up against the wall, crashing his lips down onto hers.

She placed her hands on either side of his face and pulled him closer as she ran her hands through his platinum blond hair. He placed one hand on the small of her back, pulling her body closer to his, and his other hand lingered on her neck.

He ran his tongue along her bottom lip and she opened her mouth, letting him enter. She felt his hands move to her thighs as he lifted her up and she wrapped her legs tightly around his waist. His hands began roaming her body over her clothes and she kissed him harder as she felt surges shoot through her at his every touch.

After a few minutes she pulled away to catch her breath, still straddling him. She looked deep into his enticing blue eyes as she pressed her forehead against his.

"I don't have practice tonight," she smiled.

"Yeah, but you need to sleep," he sighed.

"How did you know I'd be going to my dorm instead of dinner?" she asked, remember their conversation before they had started making out.

"Because on the second page of your essay you just wrote song lyrics," he chuckled, "So I didn't think you were in a fit state of mind to eat."

"Oh no," Daria frowned, "Snape's totally going to fail me."

"No he's not. I replaced your second page with a proper one while you were leaned over looking for your quill on the floor for five minutes before you remembered it was on your desk," Draco smiled in amusement.

"No way," Daria beamed, "You are just absolutely amazing."

"Yeah, I know," he smirked. "Now go take your nap before Pothead decides to make you go to another practice."

She smiled and gave him a quick peck on the lips before he released her hips, letting her put her feet back on the ground.

"I have practice again tomorrow evening, but maybe we could meet up the next day? It's a Saturday, so we could have more time together," she suggested, hopefully.

"Yeah, I'd like that," Draco smiled, keeping his eyes on hers.

"Great," she grinned, "How about after dinner? That's when Hermione usually goes to the library and Ron goes with her, so no one would really notice if I was missing."

"Sounds good to me," he nodded. He leaned in and brushed his lips against hers one last time, "Until then." Then he turned and left the closet before she even had time to remember how to breathe.

**A/N: Hope you enjoyed the broom closet action. Leave a review if you liked it. The next part should be up soon.**


	25. The one with the innuendoes

"Morning Blaise," Daria greeted as she took the seat next to him in Divinations.

"Morning. You look much better today," Blaise stated.

"Yeah well I actually got to sleep last night. It was amazing!" Daria smiled.

"Oh?" Blaise smirked, "You got lots of sleep, did you?"

Daria shot him a glare, "Get your mind out of the gutter. Yes I got lots of sleep, alone, in my bed."

"So what is going on between you guys then?" he asked, trying to sound casual.

"You're his best friend," she flashed him an evil grin, "Hasn't he told you?"

"He doesn't tell me anything," Blaise grumbled, "So I just have to try to figure things out on my own. It's almost like he doesn't trust me."

"Well what do you think you know?" Daria pried, interested to see how others perceived her relationship with Draco.

"I just know that he must really like you because Pansy hasn't been hanging off of him for days," he shrugged.

Daria smiled slightly at this news

"And I figure you must like him too because you haven't been in our common room lately, trying to kill him," Blaise chuckled.

"How about you and Luna?" she asked, choosing not to divulge anything about her and Draco.

Blaise shrugged, "I don't know. I don't really talk to her much since we don't have many classes together, but I'd really like to get to know her."

"You should ask her to go on Hogsmeade trip with you," Daria suggested.

Blaise pondered for a moment, "I might. Has Malfoy asked you?"

Daria shook her head, "No and I doubt he will. We're not really advertising anything yet, as far as I know."

"That's dumb," he stated with a frown, "If you two want to be together and are happy then screw the rest of the world and what it thinks."

Daria gave him a small smile before Professor Trelawney entered the classroom.

* * *

Daria and Ron sat in the quidditch stands, laughing at each other while eating Bertie Botts Every Flavor beans and watching their team mates jog around the pitch.

"Harry is going to be pissed when he sees you two aren't running," Ginny complained as she ran past.

"Harry ain't the boss of us," Ron argued.

"Yeah and we're way too out of shape for that nonsense," Daria chuckled.

Ron tossed a bean at Ginny's head but missed.

"Grow up!" Ginny glared making Ron and Daria start laughing again.

"I don't see why Harry wants us to work our leg muscles, it's not like we need them for flying," Ron groaned and started gagging as he ate a vomit flavored bean.

"You notice Harry isn't running? I think that's a double standard right there," Daria ranted.

"What are you two idiots doing?!" Harry yelled as he came out onto the field after going to retrieve the balls.

"Exercising," Daria smiled, "Our mouths. They are very important for quidditch incase we need to swallow a snitch."

"Get back to running, we need to start practicing," Harry demanded.

"I totally agree! And running would only delay our practicing even more, so let's just go straight to flying," Ron stated.

Harry sighed in agitation but didn't argue.

Daria and Ron mounted their brooms and kicked off while their teammates continued to run.

"Woo hoo!" Daria screamed as she did a few in air flips and went rocketing up toward the clouds. She could feel Harry rolling his eyes even though he was now just a speck on the ground.

"Get into position!" Harry called and Daria reluctantly turned the nose of her broom downward and began to dive.

She felt the wind rushing through her hair and had trouble keeping her eyes open at such high speeds with the air hitting her face.

The ground started growing closer as she passed by her in air teammates and spotted Harry still standing on the ground below, watching in annoyance.

She aimed her broom right at him and sped down towards him until she was about to run right into him. She saw a look of doubt flash across his eyes and she quickly pulled up and flew right over his head.

"Damnit Daria! Stop screwing around and get the quaffle," he called before he mounted his broom and shot up into the air.

Daria grinned mischievously as she barreled toward Katie. Before Katie even realized what was happening Daria snatched the quaffle from under her arm and began speeding towards Ron.

"Move out of my way Weasley or I'll run you down," Daria called, smirking playfully.

"You'll never get past me McVey," he chuckled, but looked slightly worried.

She saw his eyes get bigger and she continued to speed toward him, with no signs of slowing. At the last minute he jumped out of the way and she flew straight through the hoop, quaffle in hand.

"And that, my friends, is how you score a goal," she laughed and tossed the quaffle to Ginny who had finally caught up to her.

"You're completely insane!" Ron grinned in amusement, "Why don't you play like that when we're up against Slytherin?"

"Because the Slytherins are fucking crazy!" Daria explained, "Their keeper would hold his ground and we'd end up killing each other. But I'll give it a try with the Hufflepuffs, they tend to scare easily."

"Awesome moves, McVey!" one of the beaters named Jimmy Peakes called as he flew past, after a bludger.

"Do you always have to be a show off, Daria?" Harry asked, smiling amusedly.

"Only when I'm flying," she chuckled before flying off after Ginny.

* * *

After practice, Daria decided to sit in the stands for a while and polish her broom.

"Hey Daria," she heard someone greet and looked up to see Jimmy. "You were amazing up there."

She smiled up at him, "Thanks Jimmy, I do my best."

"Well I think even you're worst would be better than most peoples' bests," he grinned, making her blush. "Are you planning on going to hogsmeade next week?"

Daria shrugged, "Yeah probably."

"Well if you don't have a date yet, I was thinking maybe we could go together," he suggested, trying to sound casual but Daria could hear the nervousness in his voice.

She smiled sweetly, "Thanks for the offer Jimmy, but I'm not really looking for a date this time. Sorry."

Disappointment flashed before his eyes but he quickly hid it and shrugged, "That's ok. Maybe next time." Then he turned and headed for the locker room.

Daria went back to polishing her broom and didn't even notice how dark it had gotten until she heard footsteps coming toward her.

"You're out late."

She looked up and saw Draco standing next to her, watching her curiously.

"I find the field to be the best place to polish my broom. It's quiet and my broom likes it out here," she replied as she screwed the lid back onto her jar of polish.

"I don't think I'll ever fully figure you out," he smiled in amusement.

"I'm a tough nut to crack," she shrugged, "But what about you? Why are you out here so late?"

"Well my girlfriend was supposed to be busy tonight so I figured I'd go for a late night joy ride," he answered.

"Oh? So now I'm your girlfriend?" she smiled slyly.

"How do you know I was talking about you?" he smirked.

She shot him a glare, making him chuckle.

"Do you want to go for a ride with me?" he asked, nodding to his broom in his hand.

Daria considered his offer for a moment. She loved flying but she preferred being the one steering. Flying passenger would be a new experience for her and she wasn't quite sure about it.

"I suppose," she shrugged and set her broom down beside her before standing up.

"Oh, do try to contain your enthusiasm," he rolled his eyes making his giggle.

She tried to make her voice sound as high pitched and girly as possible, "Oh Draco, please let me take a ride on your broom stick."

He smirked wildly, "If that's what you want, love."

He mounted his broom and she climbed on behind him, wrapping her arms tightly around his waist. She could feel his washboard abs through his button down shirt and resisted the urge to run her hands over them.

"Hold on tight," he instructed before he kicked off the ground and they slowly rose over the field. "You're not worried about getting caught are you?"

"Are you kidding me?" Daria laughed, "I live for danger. Aren't you proof enough of that?"

He grinned before he flew off toward the lake. They glided across the shimmering water that reflected the night sky.

Daria tightened her arms around him as he sped up and she felt the wind blowing through her hair. The cool breeze felt good against her warm cheeks, which she was thankful he couldn't see since they were bright red from being so close to him.

"You up for some more daring flying?" he asked.

"You should have seen my practice today," she laughed, "Go ahead, do your best."

She could see him smirk from behind before he pulled up on the broom and shot up towards the castle. He weaved through the towers careless and Daria's heart was pounding from the adrenaline rush. She leaned forward with him as they sailed through the air, now barreling towards the forbidden forest. They flew high above the treetops and Daria admired just how vast it was from above. She could see a herd of centaurs galloping along below them and thought she got a glimpse of a unicorn but it was hard to tell at their speed.

They flew all over the grounds and luckily weren't seen by anyone since it was so dark. After they had seen all there was to see Draco brought them back to the quidditch pitch.

He touched down where Daria had left her broom and they dismounted.

"Was it as good for you as it was for me?" he smirked.

"I've had better," she shrugged with an amused grin. He rolled his eyes.

"We should get back to our dorms, it's late," he sighed and threw her broom over his shoulder with his. He offered his hand and she took it, lacing her fingers with his.

They stopped by the broom shed to put away their brooms before they walked back to the castle in silence, afraid that a teacher might catch them.

Draco walked her to the picture of the fat lady.

"I'll see you tomorrow," he whispered as he wrapped his arms tightly around her waist.

She smiled up to him, "I can't wait."

He leaned down and swept his lips against hers in a brief sweet kiss before he pulled away and she entered her common room, grinning from ear to ear.

**A/N: Hope you enjoyed this chapter, leave me a review if you did. Next chapter Draco and Daria will meet up in the tower again =)**


	26. The one where Harry gets the wrong idea

Daria lay next to the lake with her head in the grass, watching as the puffy white clouds slowly rolled by. She had her ipod next to her head and was currently playing 'Little Talks' by Of Monsters and Men. She was sure she had probably gotten several looks but couldn't see them and didn't care anyways.

She wasn't quite sure where her friends were but she knew they'd be bound to find her eventually, so for now she just enjoyed the music and silence.

She began to let her mind wonder and of course it immediately went to Draco. She had been wondering what exactly was going on between them. Last night he had called her his girlfriend, but could she really be considered that if they only saw each other in secret?

He was ashamed to tell his friends and she got that, she was too. Her friends, especially Harry, would never understand. Draco was up there with Voldemort on Harry's shit list and Daria knew how Draco's family and friends looked down on her blood status. But how terrible was it that she couldn't even go to somewhere as casual as Hogsmeade with him, for fear of judgment.

She ran her fingers through her hair and turned the music up, trying to drown out her thoughts.

"You know everyone is staring at you, right?" Daria looked up and saw Blaise standing over her with a smile.

"Let them stare!" Daria shouted so anyone in a 20 foot radius could hear, "I can't help it that they can't keep their eyes away from me."

Blaise chuckled as he watched most of the people who had been staring at her quickly turn away before he sat down next to her. She sat up as well.

"It's a beautiful day today," Blaise smiled. Daria nodded in agreement. "I figured you'd be spending it with Malfoy."

Daria quickly shot her head around to make sure no one was in earshot. One person she did notice was Draco sitting at one of the outdoor tables about 15 feet away with Crabbe, Goyle, Pike, and a few other Slytherin boys she didn't know. They were playing a game of exploding snaps and Daria was amazed that she hadn't noticed them earlier with all the noise they were making.

"I figured you would be too," Daria smirked, nodding her head in the direction of the Slytherin boys.

"I don't play with them anymore, they cheat," Blaise grumbled, "Last time Crabbe threw a card at my face and it burned the crap out of my nose. I looked like Rudolph for a week."

"Daria, what are you doing?" Daria looked up and saw Harry standing next to her on the opposite side of Blaise, looking down at the two of them quizzically.

"Just relaxing with my good buddy Zabini here and listening to some music," Daria smiled back, trying to keep the mood light. None of her friends knew she was friends with Blaise so this was going to be an interesting experience.

"You'll make friends with just about anyone, won't you?" Harry asked, shooting a scowl at Blaise who glared back.

_Boys..._ Daria thought in annoyance and rolled her eyes.

"I'd better get back to the guys. I'll see you in class, Daria," Blaise stated, still in a staring contest with Harry as he stood up. He flashed his eyebrows at Harry before he turned and strode over to the table of cackling Slytherin boys. Daria noticed that Draco was discretely watching the scene by the lake.

Harry plopped down beside Daria and turned her music down a few notches, to her dismay.

"So is that why you turned poor Jimmy and Seamus down?" Harry asked, nodding in the direction of the nearby table, "You're into Slytherins now?"

"First of all, I didn't turn down Seamus since he didn't actually ask me," Daria started in annoyance, "And second, Blaise is just a friend. We have all our classes together and he's a decent bloke."

"So? I have all my classes with Crabbe and you don't see me talking to him," Harry grumbled before he turned to shoot the Slytherins another glare.

Daria rolled her eyes before she went to put her ipod away, "Come on. Let's go see if we can find Ron and Hermione."

To her relief, he dropped the subject and stood up to follow her. If he was going to get onto her for seeing a Slytherin, she at least wanted it to be about the right one.

* * *

After dinner Daria climbed the stairs to the astronomy tower two at a time. She had managed to sneak away from her friends after Ron and Hermione claimed they were going to study and Harry went to the pitch to practice some more.

"Hey," she greeted with a smile as she spotted Draco leaning up against a nearby wall, looking bored.

A smirk spread across his face when he saw her, "Evening, love."

"How was your Satuday?" she asked as she took a seat on a nearby bench and patted the spot beside her, beckoning him to join her.

He took the seat beside her and looked deep into her eyes, "Decent. It's much better now that you're here though."

She blushed slightly and couldn't help but giggle, "Do you practice lines in your spare time?"

He snorted, "Yes I do. Every morning I practice smirking and pick up lines in the mirror, right after I fix my hair and tell myself how pretty I look."

Daria chortled but had a suspicion that he wasn't actually joking because she could imagine it so easily in her head.

"So what did Potter have his panties in a bunch about this evening?" Draco asked, raising an eyebrow curiously.

Daria rolled her eyes, "He thought I was sleeping with Blaise."

Draco feigned an angry expression, "That's bloody traitor Zabini. He's not allowed to sleep with you; he knows that I'm trying to get into your pants."

"I thought Blaise didn't know anything," Daria countered.

"I haven't told him anything, but its pretty obvious to anyone who takes the time to look that there is something between us," he retorted.

"What is going on between us?" Daria raised her eyebrow. She'd been meaning to ask him this question for days since there had been so much talk about whom she was going to Hogsmeade with.

"Why?" he grumbled, "Trying to figure out if you should get a date to hogsmeade?"

"No," she shot, defensively, "It'd just be nice to know what this is. What am I to you? Do you consider me your girlfriend?"

"Why? Do you want to be?" he smirked, causing Daria to smack his arm.

"Stop being so damn cocky," she hissed, "I'm trying to have a serious conversation with you."

"If your asking if I want us to be exclusive, then I do. But if you're trying to find out if I'll take you to hogsmeade, I think it's a bad idea," he shrugged.

Daria tried to ignore the butterflies at his first sentence and focus on the second one, "Why do you think it'd be a bad idea?"

"Do you really want to tell your friends that I'm your boyfriend?" he asked with a wisp of amusement.

The word 'boyfriend' bounced around in Daria's head for a second or two. It stirred up mixed emotions. She wanted to be with Draco. She didn't want to see anyone else and she didn't want him to either. But the idea of telling her friends about him made her stomach churn uneasily.

"Not right now," she frowned. "For now, it's probably best if we kept this between the two of us."

"You mean the three of us," Draco correctly, "Don't forget about, Blaise."

"Actually four," Daria replied, avoiding his eyes, "Hermione knows too."

"Merlin, Daria! At least I didn't tell Blaise," Draco sighed.

"I didn't tell Hermione either," she snapped back, "She found the note."

"Well let's just add Pansy to the list too then! She might not actually know but she suspects," he growled, "In fact, lets just make a list of the people who don't know."

Daria snorted at his frustration making him shoot her a glare, but his eyes instantly softened when they found hers.

"Well right now it's just me and you," Daria smiled, "And we don't have to worry about anyone but us."

His lips were instantly on hers and her smile widened as she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer. She felt his fingers run down her spine, sending shivers all over her body, before they rested on her lower back.

He licked her bottom lip, hungrily. She instantly parted her lips and felt his tongue glide against hers. She took in his smell, his taste, the feel of his hands against her body, and wanted more.

Then she felt something cold against her back and realized he had laid her down onto the bench they were sitting on and he was now on top of her, still kissing her passionately. He used one arm to support himself and the other was on her thigh, slipping carefully under the material of her skirt.

She quickly had an internal battle with herself to decide if she should stop him or not. She didn't want to go too far with him tonight, but she also didn't want to feelings his touch was causing her to feel to stop. But he seemed to sense that she wasn't ready and stayed away from her panties as he stroked his hand along her leg.

He pulled away from her lips and moved his to her neck. He started nibbling and sucking on the skin near her collarbone making her inhale sharply in pleasure. She could feel him smirking against her skin, obviously happy with himself.

His fingers moved to the buttons on her shirt and he began trying to take it off. Her fingers instantly found his and stopped him before he even had the first button undone. He looked momentarily disappointed but moved back to her lips and kissed her deeply as his hand found her thigh again.


	27. The one with bad manners

Daria awoke to the sound of birds chirping and realized before she even opened her eyelids that there was far too much sunlight, even for a Sunday. Her eyes immediately flew open and she realized she wasn't in her room.

She took in the astronomy tower around her and was momentarily confused before she realized that it wasn't a pillow under her head, it was Draco's legs. She must have fallen asleep with her head on his lap. She sat up and his robe, which had been draped over her, slid onto the floor. Draco was sitting with his back against the wall and his head off to the side; he was asleep.

Daria remembered not wanting to leave last night; she'd wanted to be near him for as long as she could. But she hadn't planned on staying so long and falling asleep.

How would she ever get back to her dorm unnoticed? Surely Hermione had noticed that she hadn't come to bed last night and she was still wearing her clothes from yesterday.

She heard Draco groan as he woke up. He stretched with a yawn before he turned to her and smirked, "Morning."

Of course he didn't have a care in the world. His friends wouldn't be the least bit fazed at him stumbling in at nine in the morning. Hell, he'd probably be congratulated.

"I need to get back to my dorm," she started as she handed his robe back to him, "You should have woken me up."

He shrugged, "I didn't have the heart. You looked so peaceful."

"My friends are going to flip," she groaned.

Draco rolled his eyes, "You're friends can get over it. It's none of Saint Potter's business where you spend your nights."

"I've got to get back," she sighed and went to stand up, "I'll see you later, Draco."

Draco grabbed her hips before she was all the way up and pulled her back down on top of him before pulling her into a passionate kiss.

* * *

Daria trekked down the hallways back toward the Gryffindor common room. She felt like she was taking the walk of shame. Her clothes were wrinkled and her hair was matted. She looked like she had just had a long night in the room of requirement.

Luckily, there weren't many students out in the halls, most being at breakfast, or outside enjoying the autumn day, or still asleep: but the few who were looked at her strangely as she passed them. Some giggled and she even heard a cat call in her direction, but she chose to ignore it as she hurried toward the picture of the fat lady.

She entered the common room and froze when she saw her three best friends sitting at one of the tables, pouring over some homework. They all looked up as she entered.

Hermione looked frightened, Ron smirked wildly, and Harry... well Harry looked plain angry.

"And where have you been all night?" Ron asked with a wink, earning a slap on the head from Hermione.

"I fell asleep in the astronomy tower," Daria shrugged. That wasn't a lie.

"With who?" Harry hissed, "That Slytherin guy you like? Zabini, is it?"

Daria rolled her eyes, "Are you seriously back on Blaise? Harry I've already told you, he's just my friend."

"He must be some good friend if you are spending the night with him," Harry growled.

"You know what?" Daria snapped, "I don't have to explain myself to you. I already told you the truth so just drop it, ok?"

She turned back to Ron and Hermione, "I'm going to go take a shower; I'll see you guys later."

She trudged up the stairs to her dorm, earning a few looks from her roommates, before she disappeared into the bathroom.

Daria glared at the wall for the entirety of her shower. If Harry acted like this under a suspicion that she was with a Slytherin, how would he ever accept that she was dating Draco?

He wouldn't. And this shouldn't have been a surprise to her. But the question was, how much did she care? Was Draco worth her friendship with Harry?

Daria shook her head to try to clear it while she rinsed out her lavender shampoo. She dried off and got dressed in a khaki pleated skirt that was mid-thigh length, a black sweater, and her usual black lace up boots.

She skipped back down the stairs, feeling much better now that she was clean and had on fresh clothes. She found her three friends still sitting where she had left them.

"I'm going to head to the great hall and get some food," she stated, "Do any of you guys want to come?"

"Sure! I'm famished!" Ron exclaimed as he stood up.

"I suppose I could take a short break from studying," Hermione sighed, reluctantly leaving her book on the table.

The three friends looked to Harry, who was glaring at the floor. He grumbled something inaudible under his breath before standing up to join them, still glaring.

* * *

The four of them walked down toward the great hall while Daria and Ron talked animatedly about what Zonko's products they wanted to get while at Hosgmeade.

She felt Harry tense up beside her and moved her gaze from Ron to the hall in front of them. They were coming up on Draco and his friends who were leaning menacingly against the wall, laughing heartily after they had terrified a few first years. Daria rolled her eyes and hoped Draco would keep his big mouth shut, but she felt her stomach drop as his eyes caught hers, then darted to Harry, who was still looking like someone had insulted his mother.

Harry glared past Draco at Blaise. She saw annoyance flash across Draco's face before his lips curled open.

"What's with the look, Potter?" he called, as the four approached the Slytherins, "Is it that time of the month again?"

Harry's death glare immediately shot to Draco, "Piss off, Malfoy."

"Ooh, not very friendly, are we?" Draco smirked, "What? You couldn't come up with a better comeback? I must say Pothead, you're losing your touch."

Harry's glare hardened and he looked back to Blaise for a moment, Draco caught it and his frustration grew.

"Why the fuck do you keep looking at Zabini?" Draco growled, "I know he's awfully pretty but I'm trying to have a conversation with you. God! Didn't you're filthy mother ever teach you any manners?"

"He must have learned his manners from your mother," Daria snapped, shooting Draco a warning glare, "That's way they are almost as piss poor as yours."

Draco ran his tongue over his teeth, behind his lips, debating how to respond to her. "Stay out of this McVey," he hissed.

"No!" she shot, "Leave my friends alone and keep your big mouth shut."

She grabbed Harry's arm and started trying to lead him away, "Come on Harry, they aren't worth it."

Luckily Draco took the hint and Daria and her friends made it to the great hall without further strife.

Daria took a seat next to Harry with Hermione across from her and grabbed a blueberry muffin. She glared at it as she pealed the paper from around its edges, vaguely aware that Hermione was watching her wearily.

She shouldn't have been so surprised. Could she have actually believed that her relationship with Draco could ease things between him and Harry? Draco may have been different around her now when they were alone, but to the rest of the world he was the same. She knew then that Harry could never accept him and reviling her feelings for Draco would inevitably damage their friendship, possibly beyond repair.

**A/N: Hey guys, sorry it took me a little longer than usual to update. I've been reading a great Dramione fic that's been taking up more of my time than I'd care to admit. Hope you enjoyed the chapter and please keep leaving me some awesome reviews. I'd love to hear what you like or hate about the story so far =)**


	28. The one with Draco brooding

**A/N: So this part will be told from Draco's perspective. I think it's important to get a glimpse into how he's feeling and what he's thinking.**

The days flew by and turned into weeks. Between quidditch practices and exams, Draco had hardly gotten to see Daria, aside from a quick snog here and there in a broom closet or an empty classroom.

He was beginning to miss her company and was growing more and more agitated as Potter continued to shoot glares at his friend Blaise. It made Draco want to punch his bloody scarred face in.

Today was the Hogsmeade trip but Draco wasn't excited about it. He wasn't going with the one person he wanted to go with, but instead would have to watch her with her friends and ex-boyfriend. He wouldn't even have Zabini to distract him since he had a date with a mental Ravenclaw. He'd have to rely on Crabbe and Goyle for company and they were just about as intellectually stimulating as slugs.

He sneered as he felt the sunlight seep through the window onto his face. He pulled the hangings on one side of his bed to try to steal a few more minutes of brooding in darkness before he was forced to get up.

"You look happy this morning," Blaise commented, noticing that his friend was awake.

Draco scoffed but didn't take his glaring eyes off the ceiling. "Chipper."

"Thinking about Daria?" Blaise asked casually.

Draco's face contorted. He didn't like Blaise's assumption, even though it was completely accurate. "No," he growled.

Blaise rolled his eyes but didn't push it.

Draco groaned as he finally decided to get up for the day and staggered to the bathroom for a shower.

After he was dry he shrugged on a pair of black pants and a green long sleeved shirt and decided to go down to the great hall for some breakfast.

He swaggered down the halls, shooting intimidating looks at underclassmen, making them scurry away from his path. He smirked happily to himself.

The halls grew emptier the closer he got to the great hall until the only footfall he could hear was his own. Then, once the doors to the hall were in sight he spotted her. She had bent over to lace up her boot and hadn't noticed him. His smirk widened as he noticed her friends were nowhere to be found and they were the only two souls in the corridor.

She finished tying the bow and stood up to enter the great hall but he stopped her. He grabbed her wrist and spun her around to face him before he smashed his lips against hers. He quickly grabbed her other wrist and shoved her against the wall, pinning both her hands above her head. She eagerly kissed him back and at that moment he didn't give a shit if anyone saw.

He cravingly sucked on her bottom lip and felt her moan slightly into his mouth, making his blood begin to rush downward. He released her wrists and wrapped his arms around her so he could pull her body closer to his. He felt her wrap her arms around his neck and he shivered as she ran her fingernails through his hair.

The sound of approaching footsteps caused them to quickly break the kiss and they both looked up in the direction of the interruption.

Zabini strutted past them toward the doors to the great hall, an amused smirk playing on his mouth.

"Morning Daria," he greeted, his smirk consuming his face.

"Blaise," Daria nodded her head in acknowledgement before he disappeared into the Great Hall.

Draco reluctantly removed himself from her and tried to regain his composure.

Daria looked slightly confused as she adjusted her top, "What was that about?"

He shrugged, "Just felt like groping you a little before breakfast. Got a problem with that?"

She rolled her eyes but gave him a lingering peck on the lips for she entered the Great Hall. Draco followed a few seconds later.

He immediately noticed Potter's horrified look and mentally smacked himself for not making Daria wait longer. It didn't take a genius to figure out what was going through Potter's head as he looked frantically from Daria with her slightly swollen lips, her tasseled hair, and flushed cheeks to Blaise, who was still smirking wildly at what he had just witnessed, oblivious to anyone watching him.

Blaise had only entered a moment or two before Daria had and Scarhead didn't even notice Draco enter, but he wished that he had. He didn't like the idea of Pothead being jealous of Blaise instead of him. He wasn't sure why but it made him want to go mark his territory.

He resisted the urge to go to the Gryffindor table and grab his witch's ass or do some other crude or ostentatious show of affection. Instead he turned and sulked toward the Slytherin table, taking a seat next to Blaise and shooting Scarhead an unnoticed glare.

* * *

Draco sat alone in a booth, back in the shadows of the Three Broomsticks, mindlessly swirling the remainder of his butter beer around in its mug.

He had abandoned Crabbe and Goyle at Honeyduke's about a half an hour ago after he grew tired of watching them gorge themselves on sticky sweets. It occurred to him that most of the people he associated himself with had an overzealous sweet tooth.

He had spotted Zabini and Lovegood in a booth near the front, talking in low romantic whispers, and was attempting to ignore them as he tried not to think about all the things him and Daria could be doing if she was sitting in his booth.

A bar maid came over and handed Draco a fresh butter beer which he downed half of in one swig. He was considering moving up to a stronger drink when the bell on the door jingled and he looked up when he eyes caught two heads of red hair.

He immediately spotted Daria and Weasley, linking arms and laughing hysterically. Then he spotted Granger and Potter behind them before the four of them took a seat at a table in the middle. Draco watched the group openly as he was concealed in a shadow.

Madam Rosmerta came to get their order. Daria's three friends all ordered butter beers before Madam Rosmerta turned to Daria.

"I'll have a fire whiskey," she grinned, "In a very large glass."

Granger shot her a glare, "Daria, it's the middle of the day!"

"All the more reason!" Weasley chuckled, "I'll have the same."

Madam Rosmerta summoned their glasses and scurried back to the bar.

"I bet I can drink mine faster," Daria challenged her red headed friend with a mischievous grin.

"No way," Weasley smirked before picking up his glass and gulping it.

"No fair! You got a head start!" Daria objected before she quickly brought her drink to her lips and started chugging.

"We're going to have to carry them home," Granger sighed to Potter.

"You can carry Ron," he smiled.

"I win!" Daria squealed as she triumphantly banged her glass against the table.

"Bloody hell Daria," Weasley sighed as he set his empty glass back down, "You drink like a man."

"I take that as a sexist comment," she scoffed, smacking him on the arm.

Draco noticed that Potter had started glaring off into another direction and Daria soon noticed too, turning to see what he was looking at. He was glaring at Blaise and Loony's booth.

Daria grinned before waving frantically at them, "Blaise! Luna! Come join us!"

The Ravenclaw looked up at their table and smiled before she grabbed Blaise's arm and dragged him with her over to their table. He looked very put out.

"Oh hello Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Daria," Lovegood greeting airily.

"Have a seat!" Daria instructed, pushing out two chairs with her feet, "What brings you two here?"

Blaise quickly took the seat next to Daria to avoid sitting next to Pothead, who was still glaring at him. Loony took the other seat before answering dreamily, "Oh we were just enjoying a few butter beers on our date. Did you know they don't actually contain butter? But they do fill your brain with wrackspurts."

"Date?" Potter stammered, "You two are dating?"

"More like casually enjoying each other's company and body," Loony smiled, making Blaise and everyone else at the table look extremely uncomfortable. Draco held back a chuckle.

Potter laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his neck, "Well that's funny. Here I was thinking Daria was dating Blaise."

The rest of the table broke out in uncomfortable laughter as well, except Lovegood who quirked her eyebrows in confusion, "That is funny. I thought Daria was dating Draco Malfoy."

Draco wished he were at a decent angle to see Scarhead's face.

**A/N: Hope you enjoyed Draco's chapter. I'm going to try to do more sections from his perspective. Again, sorry it took so much longer than normal for me to update, I've been really caught up in reading recently but the next one should be up in the next few days and we're coming up on a plot twist so stay tuned. R&R!**


	29. The one with the hangover

Everyone at the table gaped at Luna in awe, either in disbelief at her words or that she had said them, except for Daria. She was nervously biting her lip and glancing around the room, in hopes that she might find what she should say on a big neon sign.

That's when she noticed the pair of striking silvery eyes in the corner. She locked onto them and completely forgot her surroundings and what she was supposed to be doing. She could see the amusement flitting around in Draco's eyes without even seeing his smirk. Of course _he_ was enjoying this.

Daria was snapped back into her surroundings as Harry guffawed and Ron broke out into uncontrollable laughter. Hermione and Blaise both caught on and quickly started chuckling as well. Daria and Luna exchanged a confused look.

"Where do you come up with this stuff Luna?" Harry snorted, taking a sip of his butter beer to try to control himself.

"What are you talking about Harry?" Luna asked, tilting her head slightly to the side.

"Daria and Malfoy? That's the craziest thing I've ever heard," Harry chuckled, "What would ever compel Daria to go out with a prat like Malfoy?"

Daria looked desperately at Blaise, who seemed to be debating when he should intercede and stop Luna. Apparently right now didn't seem like a good time to him.

"I'd assume his hair," Luna shrugged, "Or perhaps his butt."

"Ok, that's enough sugar for you, dear," Blaise laughed awkwardly, scooting Luna's butter beer away from her, "Why don't we head over to Honeyduke's now?"

Daria resisted the urge to correct Blaise's hypocritical statement and instead gave him a weak smile.

"That sounds lovely," Luna beamed, letting him help her out of her chair. "It was nice seeing you all. Goodbye Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Daria," she stated dreamily before she nodded to the corner of the bar, raising her voice slightly, "Goodbye Draco."

Four sets of eyes quickly shot to the shadowed corner booth. Daria didn't bother since she was already aware of his presence; instead she became engrossed with the ends of her hair.

"Bloody hell, has he been there this whole time?" Blaise hissed to Daria, while the others continued to glare at Draco. She nodded her head solemnly.

"What are you up to Malfoy?" Harry spat as he continued to glare daggers in his direction.

"Just having a drink, Potty," Draco smirked, raising his butter beer, "Cheers."

"Have you been eavesdropping on us you stupid git?" Ron snapped, his ears turning red from either anger or the fire whiskey.

"Of course not, Weasel-bee," Draco smiled smugly, before turning to shoot a look at Hermione, Daria, and Luna, "By the way, you ladies are welcome to stare at my hair and butt whenever you'd like."

"Oh no thank you," Luna smiled, "But I'm sure Daria wouldn't mind looking."

"Madam Rosmerta!" Daria called, trying not to turn crimson, "Could we get some more drinks over here?"

Daria couldn't quite remember how she had gotten to her bed that night, she was fairly certain that Harry must have carried her.

After Luna and Draco had left the Three Broomsticks, Daria had had at least three more fire whiskeys to try to drown her embarrassment. She couldn't remember much else.

She groaned as the sunlight coming through the dorm window brightened and resisted the urge to throw up from her pounding migraine.

"That's what you get for getting smashed," Hermione scolded from her seat on her own bed.

"Bugger off, Hermione," Daria snapped, gulping down a heave.

"You know you really should tell them," Hermione suggested.

Daria rolled her eyes and scoffed, "Cause last night went so well. If I were ever to convince them that it isn't a joke they would be furious."

Daria felt the room begin to spin and dashed to the bathroom.

* * *

That evening Daria sat alone in the floor of the Astronomy Tower. Her and Draco hadn't agreed to meet tonight but she'd hope he would be there. If anything the cool night air helped to numb her splitting headache.

"You look like hell," she heard a male voice state and she looked up into Draco's dancing eyes.

"Thanks," she groaned, "You look beautiful too."

"I know," he smirked before he took a seat beside her. "I brought you a present. Nicked it from Snape's personal stores."

He dangled a small bottle of dark blue potion in front of her face and she let out an excited gasp, "Oh my god! Is that hangover potion?"

He grinned, "It sure is."

"You are amazing!" she grinned, snatching the vile from his fingers, "I love you."

Daria froze as she realized what had just come out of her mouth and quickly backpedaled, "And of course I mean that in a completely non-threatening, non-scaring-off-new-boyfriend way. I may or may not still be under the influence of alcohol."

Draco's smirk grew, "Just drink your potion so I can shove my tongue down your throat."

Daria batted her eyelashes before replying in sickly sweet voice, "Oh Draco! You're so romantic."

She downed the potion in one gulp before continuing, "So you had ulterior motives then? Get me feeling better so we could snog?"

Draco shrugged, "Well if you are still under the influence I was hoping we might do a little more than that."

"I wouldn't get your hopes up Mr. Malfoy," Daria chortled, "It's going to take a little more than some hang over potion to get into my knickers."

"Name your price and I'll gladly oblige," he wagged his eyebrows.

Daria smacked him hard on the arm, "I am not a prostitute, Draco!"

Draco chuckled, "What? You can't even sleep with the man you love?"

She shot him a glare that made him laugh harder, "I'm going to hurt you."

After a few minutes when Draco was able to stop laughing he decided it would be wise to change the subject since Daria was still glowering at him.

"So are you going home for Christmas break this weekend?" he asked.

Daria sighed, "Unfortunately yes. Are you?"

"Mmhmm," Draco nodded, "Mother's having another one of her stupid parties. I'll make sure your mom gets an invite."

"Oh goodie," she scoffed, "Should our families know about this?"

Draco shrugged, "Who bloody cares? It's a pretty big hit or miss anyways. Either my parents will be thrilled I'm with a McVey or outraged I'm with a half blood."

Daria laid her head on his shoulder, "Which do you see me as? Someone from a respectable pureblood line or a half blood?"

"I see you as Daria," he smiled as he ran his fingers over her shoulder, "The rest doesn't matter."

**A/N: So there will probably only be one or two more chapters until the next plot twist so be sure to keep reading and reviewing =)**


	30. The one at Malfoy Manor

Daria lay on her bed with her ipod next to her head, mindlessly staring up at the ceiling. 'Lolita' by the Veronicas was currently playing.

She'd had an ominous feeling all break and with the Malfoy's ball growing closer and closer she was growing more nervous. Tonight was finally the night and while she'd been missing Draco and wanted to see him, she was also scared shitless.

She was the main one who had been afraid to tell people, so starting with Draco's parents seemed like a terrible idea to her. She doubted her last name could redeem her of having a muggle father. Not that she cared what pure blood death eaters thought about her, but she didn't particularly want to have to deal with her boyfriend's parents talking down to her about something she couldn't help.

"What is this?!" Fauna barked in Daria ear, snatching up the ipod and looking at it in disgust. "Daria, if I've told you once I've told you a thousand times, no muggle technology in this house!"

Daria watched in anger as her mother threw her ipod to the floor and reducto-ed it.

Fauna turned and stomped out of Daria's room. Daria listened until she heard her mother's high heels reach the floor below before she slide a shoe box full of spare ipods out from under her bed and started playing her music again.

"You need to start getting ready!" she heard her mother call from downstairs, "We're leaving in an hour!"

Daria groaned loudly before rolling out of her bed, taking her ipod with her to the bathroom to take a shower.

She dug through her dress closet trying to pick out a suitable one. Usually she just threw on whichever her hand touched first since she honestly didn't care what anyone thought of her but this time she felt the need to try just a little bit. Not only was this going to be the first formal event she'd been too where her and Draco weren't trying to kill each other, but she hoped that if she could make herself look respectable enough that Lucius and Narcissa wouldn't look at her like something they'd stepped in.

She finally decided on a black dress with a beaded sweat heart neckline and a poofy skirt. In the back, the skirt flourished into rows of ruffles that went from her tailbone to the floor.

After putting on her dress, Daria went back to the mirror to do her hair. She grabbed some bobby pins and pinned half of her hair into an updo and let the rest of her curly hair fall freely. She applied some light make up with black eyeliner and green eye shadow to make her emerald eyes pop.

She could feel her nerves begin to build after she had finished her make up and had nothing to do but wait. She contemplated going downstairs with her mom until it was time to leave but one look at the ashes of her old ipod killed that idea.

She took a seat on the edge of her bed and tried to keep herself from hyperventilating as she pulled her replacement ipod back out and searched for a calming song. She settled on 'The Devil's Tears' by Angus & Julia Stone.

She leaned her head back and closed her eyes as she let the music absorb into her soul. She tried to picture a decent image of Draco's beautiful eyes in her mind but her imagination never did them justice, so she thought about his lips instead.

Daria about jumped out of her skin when she heard a knocking sound at her window and fell off of her bed onto the floor. She quickly got up and dusted off her dress before shooting her eyes up to the window where an eagle out waited patiently behind the glass, a red box hanging from it's beak.

She hurried over to the window and let the owl in; it settled gracefully into her bed, dropping the package onto the sheets.

Daria examined the book sized red box with a white ribbon tying it closed. She immediately recognized it as a necklace box and judging by the elaborate way it opened, it was a very pricey one. She pulled away the ribbon and her breath caught in her throat when the box opened. Inside was a beautiful emerald pendant, shaped like a heart and surrounded by a heart of diamonds, on a silver chain. She noticed it matched her eyes perfectly but then the significance of it hit her and she felt those damn butterflies again. She had a Slytherin's heart.

A smile spread across her face as she fastened the emerald around her neck and admired it in the mirror. _And he has mine,_ she thought and felt her heart start beating erratically again.

She silently cursed herself for getting this giddy when he wasn't even here and grabbed a piece of a notepaper and a quill.

_'Don't think that this is going to get me to sleep with you, love_.'

Daria smirked to herself before handing the note to Draco's owl, which nuzzled her hand affectionately before it flew back out of her window.

"Daria! It's time to go!" Fauna called from downstairs.

Daria took one last look in the mirror at the necklace before she sauntered down the steps.

* * *

She was greeted by the familiar pounding of the bass as she stepped out of the Malfoy's fireplace, into their ballroom next to her mother.

"Come on dear, let's go greet our hosts," he mother instructed eagerly as she led Daria toward Lucius and Narcissa. Daria had a thought that if Draco was of age that her mother would be going after him as well, something about rich blond blokes.

"Lucius! Narcissa! It's wonderful to see you," Fauna gushed as she greeted Narcissa with a one sided hug.

Lucius kissed her hand, "It's great to see you again Fauna. Did you not bring your little half blood daughter this time?"

"She right here," Fauna replied, seizing Daria's arm and pulling her closer. Lucius looked a little confused but nodded to her in welcome. He probably wasn't used to Daria looking all dolled up, so it threw him for a loop.

Daria smiled back and ordered herself to try to be friendly to the death eater in front of her, "Thank you for inviting us."

Daria knew that it had probably only been her mother who had scored an invite and she was only welcome by association, but it still seemed like a polite thing to say.

Lucius grabbed her hand and planted a kiss on it, "Glad you two could make it Miss McVey."

Daria noted that he probably still hadn't decided to memorize her name, but didn't say anything.

"Yes, it's lovely to have you here," Narcissa smiled courtly but made no move to give Daria any sign of physical greeting.

"Daria, dear, why don't you go try to find some of your classmates? I need to talk to the Malfoy's for a moment," Fauna suggested. Daria knew that by a 'moment' her mother meant all evening but that suited Daria well because she didn't really want to see her mother anymore than absolutely necessary.

Daria gave Lucius and Narcissa another smile before she turned and headed toward the rest of the guests. She scanned the crowd but didn't see Draco's telltale white blond hair so she decided to skirt her way around the dance floor to her usual wallflower seat.

"Wow you look stunning!" she heard someone exclaim and looked up to see Blaise sitting on the love seat she had been making her way to.

She blushed slightly before taking the seat next to him, "You think so?"

"Most definitely," he grinned, "Draco's gonna fall on his ass when he sees you."

Daria's blush intensified, making Blaise chuckle.

"Have you seen him around anywhere?" she asked, again scanning the room.

"He was around here a few minutes ago," Blaise answered, also looking around, "He'll turn up. You know how he is at these things, he usually stays hidden for as much of it as he can."

Daria shook her head, "No I don't know. Usually I try to avoid him at all costs when I'm here."

Blaise smirked, "Funny how quickly some things can change."

"Is Luna here with you?" Daria asked, wondering why her friend was sitting with her instead of enjoying himself.

Blaise shook his head with a frown, "No. I don't suspect she'd be very welcome here. My mom would disown me if she knew."

Daria smiled, "What is it with you Slytherin boys and dating people you aren't supposed to? Is it some kind of rebellious stage you go through?"

He rolled his eyes but couldn't hide his snort, "I guess the pureblood girls aren't nearly crazy enough for us."

"Hey Zabini," they heard a smooth feminine voice greet and Daria looked up to see a Slytherin girl she recognized but couldn't name standing in front of them.

"Oh, hey Daphne," Blaise replied in a bored tone.

"You look awfully lonely over here. Would you care to dance?" she grinned mischievously, probably intentionally looking right past Daria.

Blaise shrugged, "Sure why not." He stood up and Daphne wrapped her arm around his, "See you later, Daria."

Daria give him a wave and watched him disappear onto the dance floor.

"Man, I thought he'd never leave," Draco sighed, plopping down into Blaise's empty seat and draping his arm around Daria's shoulders.

She jumped slightly at his sudden appearance, "And where have you been?"

"Hiding," Draco shrugged but his eyes flitted nervously around the room.

"From?" Daria raised her eyebrow as his eyes continued to scan.

"Girls," he replied simply, "They've been all over me this evening."

Daria tried to ignore the pang of jealously she felt in the pit of her stomach.

"Do you want to dance? Maybe if they see I'm with the most beautiful girl here then they will take the hint and leave me alone," he smirked.

Daria wasn't quite sure if she should be flattered or annoyed by his words, but shrugged, "Ok, fine."

"I love your enthusiasm," he chuckled.

"Oh and you seemed so eager," Daria rolled her eyes as she gave him her hand and followed him to the dance floor.

She could feel glaring eyes all around her as they passed through the crowd before coming to a thinned out area. Daria glanced around and found several girls glowering at her.

"They weren't like this last time," Daria noted as she wrapped an arm around Draco's neck and he wrapped his around her waist.

"Yeah but last time I danced with all of them, didn't I?" he smirked, "That is until me and you went off for some alone time."

Daria shook her head and scoffed, "No, I went off for some alone time, and you were so much of a gentleman that you tagged along to make sure I didn't have a good time."

"Well are you having a better time at this one?" he asked, cocking an eyebrow.

Daria glanced around at the glaring eyes still on her, "I'm not sure yet. I'll let you know."

The light hit Daria's necklace and Draco's eyes darted toward it. He smiled slightly, "You know, most girls would say thank you when a guy gives them something shiny."

"Well I'm not most girls, am I?" she smirked, "But thank you. It's beautiful."

Draco shrugged, "It's decent. Not nearly as radiant as you."

Daria smiled slyly, "You know, we could always go off and find a quite place again, preferably one far away from gravel."

"Sounds delightful," he grinned, "But lets dance a little longer first."

Daria felt his grip around her waist tighten as he pulled her closer, making her heart start fluttering again.

"It's been a long two weeks without you, so I want to make tonight special," he looked deep into her eyes and her heart was pounding so hard in her ears that she didn't even notice the song had changed for a few seconds.

_Give me a second I... I need to get my story straight..._

A huge grin spread across Daria's face as she realized her favorite song was playing.

"I made a special request," Draco winked and Daria resisted the urge to blurt out the 'L' word again.

* * *

Draco slammed her up against the wall as soon as they had entered his bedroom and crashed his lips into hers. She gasped into his mouth at his forcefulness but passionately kissed him back.

He started pulling at the layers of the skirt of her dress until he found her skin. He slid his hands up to the back of her thighs and picked her up. She instinctively wrapped her legs around his hips and pulled him closer.

He ran his hands over every inch of her, taking her in with his fingers and felt her trembling at his touch. He stopped at her bodice and cupped her breast through the fabric. He felt her arch her back and she deepened the kiss by gliding her tongue into his mouth and she ran her fingers down his torso making his groan. He felt himself growing harder between her thighs and decided that they should relocate to a more romantic spot.

He tightened his grip around her hips and pulled both of them away from the wall. When he felt his knees hit the edge of the bed he gently laid her down and rested himself on his elbows on top of her. He broke away from her lips and began trailing kisses down her neck. He paused at her clavicle and nibbled and sucked at her skin causing her to moan slightly and him to grow harder. He felt her tighten her legs around him.

He moved his weight over to one arm and reached the other around her back. Still nibbling at her collarbone, he found her zipper and started to pull it down.

Suddenly he was flat on his back and Daria quickly sat up and zipped herself back up, "Draco, our parents are right down stairs. We can't have sex."

He stuck out his bottom lip and furrowed his eyebrows, "Of course we can. We'll just lock the door and put up a silencing spell."

She rolled her eyes, "Not tonight."

He sat up next to her and wrapped his arms around her waist. "So maybe another night then?" He nuzzled at her neck making her shiver.

"Perhaps," she shrugged.

"You're right," he sighed, "This seems more like a Room of Requirement type of event."

Daria chortled and shook her head, "You're incorrigible."

"Draco?" the bedroom door opened and Narcissa appeared in the doorway, looking a little taken back to see that he wasn't alone.

Daria immediately reevaluated that train of thought. Surely it wasn't surprising to not find her son alone in his room; the surprising part was probably that he was with her. Daria felt her stomach drop.

"Yes mother?" Draco sighed, pulling his face away from Daria's neck.

"Your father and I have been looking for you. You've been neglecting our guests," Narcissa shot Daria a look, "Well most of them anyways."

"Miss McVey, why don't you head downstairs and help yourself to some hors d'oeuvres. I'd like to talk to my son for a moment," Narcissa instructed. Daria didn't bother to argue, she just nodded her head and left the room, closing the door behind her.

"What are you doing, Draco?" Narcissa snapped, as soon as the latch had clicked.

Draco raised his eyebrow, "What do you mean mother?"

"That girl may be a McVey but she is half muggle. Her blood is filthy," she spat.

"Didn't you and father make me dance with her the last time she was here?" he quipped.

"Well that's just good manors!" Narcissa shot, "And we wanted you to dance with her, not sleep with her, Draco! I will not have my grandchildren polluted with non-magic blood."

Draco was silent as he glared up at her.

"I won't tell your father about this," she hissed, "And I don't want to see that girl in my house again. Now go downstairs and dance with some of the beautiful pure blood girls who have been waiting for you."

**A/N: Wow so this was a long chapter. About twice as long as usual so I hope you enjoyed it. There's going to be some exciting things happening next chapter... or maybe it will be the chapter after that, but regardless you should stay tuned. Please review =)**


	31. The one with the prophecy

**A/N: Just wanted to add a disclaimer. In case some of you haven't noticed this story basically completely disregards the 6****th**** and 7****th**** books, hence why Draco isn't a death eater, plotting to kill Dumbledore. I'm also changing a few things from the 5****th**** book, like all the prophecies didn't get destroyed and Lucius didn't go to Azkaban and fall out of Voldemort's graces. **

**A/N 2: Thanks to everyone who has left me reviews, they make my day =) A special thanks to Nicky-Maree, ForeverTeamEdward13, and AmythestAgent for leaving multiple reviews. I hope to hear more from everyone.**

**A/N 3: I know, I know, too many author notes but I'm on a roll. These next few chapters you are going to love or hate, maybe a little bit of both. But I can guarantee that they will be interesting =)**

Daria sat in the Gryffindor common room with her friends as she idly flipped through a quidditch magazine. They had just arrived back to Hogwarts from Christmas break that evening.

"Well I'm tired, I'm gonna head up to bed guys," Harry yawned, closing his book before he stood up.

"See you in the morning Harry," Daria replied and watched him ascend the stairs until he disappeared behind the boys' dorm door.

Daria glanced at the clock. 9:58 pm.

"Hey, I think I'm going to go for a walk around the halls. I'll talk to you guys later," Daria stated, also getting up.

"It's past curfew," Hermione scolded.

"What some company?" Ron asked, starting to get out of his chair.

"No!" Daria answered, a little too quickly. "I think I just want to be by myself. Thanks though."

Ron quirked an eyebrow but sat back down before Daria scurried out the portrait hole.

Ron turned to Hermione who was buried behind a book, "She's going to see Malfoy, isn't she?"

Hermione looked up in confusion and saw that he was serious. "Yes," she answered solemnly before going back to her book.

Daria hurried down the corridors, trying to be as quiet as possible and sticking close to the walls.

"Meowww."

Daria turned sharply and spotted Mrs. Norris trotting towards her.

"Shit," she hissed and started sprinting in the other direction, away from the astronomy tower.

After about ten minutes of running, Daria had managed to lose Filch and started climbing the tower stairs while panting. She flung the door open when she got to the top and smoothed down her shirt, trying to compose herself before she strolled over to the Draco.

"You're late," Draco smirked, "Are you ever on time for anything?"

"Sometimes, when there is food involved," Daria shrugged as she approached him, stopping inches in front of him. "Filch caught a glimpse of me but I managed to lose him."

Draco shook his head at her in amusement before looking into her eyes and assuming a serious expression again.

"I've missed you," he sighed as he tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, taking her in with his eyes. "It's been days since I last saw you."

"Oh?" Daria asked slyly, "What did you miss most?"

"I think you know," he grinned, as his eyes fell on her lips.

She bit her bottom lip before stealing his smirk, "You mean this?"

Daria wrapped her fingers around his tie and pulled his face closer to hers before she tenderly brushed her lips against his.

He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close, deepening the kiss.

Daria suddenly had a feeling of déjà vu and pulled away, shooting her eyes to the other side of the astronomy tower. She saw nothing.

"What is it, love?" Draco asked, following her gaze.

"We've been here before," she smiled as she looked back into his icy blue eyes.

He grinned and held her tighter as he kissed her deeply. After a few seconds he pulled away and looked into her eyes, "I think we should tell people now."

Daria furrowed her eyebrows, "Yeah because the last person that found out reacted so well."

"Mum just doesn't understand. She'll come around once she figures out how much you mean to me," he reassured, "She may have disowned her sister but she would never turn her back on me over something as silly as your blood status."

Daira felt a tinge of grief; she didn't want to cause any strife between Draco and his family, even if they were a bunch of murdering death eaters, "Are you sure about this?"

Draco nodded, "Well why not? Half of the bloody school already knows anyway."

Daria smiled as she thought back to his suggestion to make a list of the people who didn't know, "Alright. We can go public, but let me tell Harry and Ron before we go making out in the Great Hall."

He grinned, "Now that sounds fun."

Draco escorted Daria back down the corridors to toward the Gryffindor common room, his fingered laced with hers.

They skirted along the halls, silently, trying to avoid detection but someone was on them before they even realized they weren't alone.

"Good evening children."

Daria and Draco both jumped at the sight of Professor Dumbledore standing directly in front of them, a knowing smile hanging on his lips.

"Evening professor," Daria smiled nervously, "We were just uh..."

"Going for a walk?" Dumbledore suggested, slyly glancing at their entwined hands, "I also enjoy walking through the corridors in complete darkness."

Daria nodded in confusion but didn't question him not giving her and Draco detention.

"Daria," Dumbledore started, "I've been meaning to speak with you. Would you mind accompanying me back to my office? Draco, it would probably be wise for you to head back to the dungeons. But be careful, Mr. Filch is near the one-eyed witch statue so you might want to go around."

Draco raised his eyebrow and opened his mouth to question the old man in front of him but thought better. Instead he pulled his hand away from Daria's and scurried off toward his common room.

"This way," Dumbledore smiled, before waltzing down the hallway.

Daria followed the old wizard to his office and took a seat in one of the plushy chairs in front of his deck while he sat down across from her.

"Daria do you remember last year at the Department of Ministries when you and your friends were in the Hall of Prophecy?" he began. Daria nodded and he continued, "Did Harry tell you about what his prophecy said?"

Daria shrugged, "He mentioned it. Something about him and Voldemort can't both survive, but I didn't hear it all word for word."

"Daria, I'd like for you to come with me. There is something I think you should see," he stated solumnly.

Daria felt the nerves building in her stomach, "Where are we going sir?"

Dumbledore extended his arm to her so they could apparate before answering lightly, "Field trip."

Daria felt the world around her begin to spin as they apparated and thought she might be sick. Then she felt the solid ground below her feet again and it was over.

She immediately recognized their location as she looked around at shelves of orbs all around them. They were in the Hall of Prophecy.

"But sir, I thought you couldn't apparate in and out of here," Daria questioned.

"That's just what they want you to think," he smiled slyly, "I often come here to do my knitting. I find the glow of the orbs soothing."

"Oh but sir, I didn't bring my knitting needles," Daria smiled back.

"Not to fear," he replied cheerfully, "I always bring spares. But today we're just here to retrieve a prophecy."

"I thought only the people involved in a prophecy could retrieve it," Daira furrowed her eyebrows.

"And so you are," he stated, pointing forward to a shelf in front of them.

Daria drew closer to where he was pointing so she could get a better look and spotted a small orb with a dusty yellow label below it.

_Daria McVey, Draco Malfoy_

Daria felt her breath catch in her through. There was a prophecy about her and Draco?

"Sir?" Daria asked, turning back to face Dumbledore. She couldn't think of any more words to add.

"I think it's time you know what your future holds," he replied, looking serious again.

Daria hesitantly lifted her hand to touch the orb. She wasn't sure if she wanted to retrieve it or not. What kind of future could she have with Draco that required a prophecy? 'And they lived happily ever after' didn't really seem plausible.

She inhaled deeply before she wrapped her fingers around the orb and removed it from the stand, bringing it close to her face so she wouldn't miss a syllable.

_After the dark lord shall fall... the dark side will once again rise to power... this time led by the son of the old lord's most trusted follower... On the light side shall rise a leader... born of half magic with eyes like jewels... who's heart belongs to the new dark lord... A battle shall ensue... of sides light and dark... but in the end the winner will be forced to destroy the one the they love..._

Daria felt a wave of emotions hit her as if she were standing in the middle of the ocean. Draco was going to be the new dark lord and they were destined to destroy each other.

She closed her eyes and thought back to that day in potions class where they made the vision potion. It showed that her and Draco would be together.

She took a sharp breath as the reality hit her. They were together. The vision they had shared had showed them this very night. The potion never guaranteed they would be together after this.

"Daria? Are you alright?" Dumbledore asked as he placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

Daria closed her eyes and nodded, trying to fight back tears, before placing the orb back on its stand. "I think I'm ready to leave now."

**A/N 4: Wow, very emotional chapter. I even got a little teary writing and I know what happens. Stay tuned because the next few chapters are going to be very interesting. Hope you liked it and please review.**


	32. The one with ups and downs

******A/N: So sorry that it took me longer than usual to update (although you've got to admit, even when my updates are delayed they are still up a whole lot faster than most stories) but this chapter is soooo long. It's nearly four times longer than some of the chapters and I really wanted it to be just right. This was a very difficult chapter to write so I really hope it was worth it and that you feel the need to leave me lots of reviews =)**

Daria sat in History of Magic staring straight ahead as Professor Binns lectured about something she wasn't paying attention to.

For the past nine hours the only thing she could think about was her and Draco. She had told him that she would tell Harry and Ron about them today but she wasn't sure if she should anymore.

She hadn't gotten any sleep last night, instead she went through every possible meaning of the prophecy in her head. 'Destroy' suddenly seemed like such a vague word to her. She had considered every possible implication, from Draco disintegrating her to some possible crazy metaphor that didn't actually involve either of them dying.

Daria knew she could never kill anyone, especially Draco, so if the translation was literal then he was destined to murder her. Unless of course she was put under the imperius curse. Neither scenario sounded particularly pleasant.

When Binns turned his back for a moment to write something on the board, Daria dared a quick glance back at Draco. He caught her eyes and smirked back. She felt those familiar butterflies begin to dance around in her stomach and they started pulling at her tear ducts. She had to swiftly turn away before she started crying in the middle of class. Ron was staring at her curiously but she didn't look at him.

She wished Dumbledore had never taken her to the Hall of Prophecy. She didn't want this burden. She wanted to be blissfully ignorant and deliriously happy with Draco. Was that too much to ask?

She noticed her friends all getting up to leave and realized that Professor Binns must have dismissed the class, so she started gather up her stuff.

Draco caught up to her as she started toward the Divinations classroom, "Hey, are you ok?"

She nodded. "I'm fine," she lied.

"How did you friends take it?" he asked, still looking concerned. "Cause if Pothead gives you any grief let me know and I'll make him eat slugs."

"Oh, I haven't told them yet," Daria stated, "I haven't had the chance. I'll try to talk to them after classes."

"Are you sure you're alright? Cause you know, if you need a pick-me-up we could always go find a closet to snog in," he smirked.

Daria rolled her eyes and allowed herself to smile for the first time all morning, "I'm sure. I'll see you in potions." She gave him a quick peck on the cheek before she scurried off toward Divinations.

* * *

Blaise greeted her with a grin as she took her seat next to him, "I heard the big news."

Daria raised her eyebrow. She had been focusing on only one piece of news so anything else seemed inconsequential, "What news?"

"That you and Malfoy are going public. It's about damn time," he smirked.

"Oh that," Daria replied, shooting her gaze down to the floor, "Well I still need to tell my friends so don't go spreading it around."

Just then Professor Trelawney walked into the classroom, "Today we shall be practicing the art of crystal gazing." She started levitating a crystal ball to every table, "Open your inner eye and you might just find out if you will die a slow and painful death."

"I hate these things," Blaise grumbled, "I can never see anything. Can you?"

Daria shrugged, "I've seen a few things but nothing important. One time I found out what I was going to have for breakfast the next day."

Daria hopped that she wouldn't see anything today. She had had quite enough of the future for one lifetime. But as she stared into the foggy crystal ball she noticed shapes beginning to form. She leaned in closer as they started getting more distinct. They were bodies, two of them.

"Do you see that?" she asked Blaise, not taking her eyes off the ball.

"See what?" he asked, also drawing closer, "I don't see anything, Daria."

There were definitely two people now; one of them was much shorter than the other. A dwarf perhaps? No, it was someone on their knees and the other person had a wand pointed at them.

The vision began to get sharper and Daria gasped as she recognized the two figures. It was she on her knees in surrender in front of Draco. He looked so strange, shrouded in a death eater's cloak, his skin a sickly pale, and his grey eyes cold as he stared down at her emotionlessly.

He leaned down so his lips were next to her ear for just an instant, whispering something unknown, before he straightened back up and a green light shot out of the tip of his wand, filling the entire ball.

"What did you see?" Blaise asked, taking in the look of horror on her face.

"Nothing," she breathed.

"Class dismissed!" Professor Trelawney announced and Daria grabbed her bag and ran out before Blaise could even open his mouth to respond.

* * *

Daria didn't go to the Great Hall for lunch, instead she fled down the halls toward her dorm as she felt the world around her begin to crumble.

So managed to find her way to her bed, but couldn't remember how she had gotten there, and pulled the hangings closed around her.

Draco was going to be the new dark lord and he was going to murder her. So much for 'happily ever after'. Was there any way that this wouldn't end disastrously?

Daria ran her hands through her hair and tried to think of some way she could change the future. She thought about her first vision, how her and Draco had tried to prevent it from happening, but it had happened anyway. There was no way around the future. She felt her heart drop as she realized what her only possible course of action was. She had to not fall in love with Draco. She needed to distance herself from him, so that one day when he killed her, it wouldn't hurt so bad. She couldn't go on, knowing that the man she loved was going to kill her; she couldn't live life with that fear.

She didn't belong in his world anyway; she'd always known that. It had been stupid of her to think that this could ever end well. That her friends might actually accept him, that his parents would accept her, and that they could be happy together without the weight of the world on their shoulders. She had been fooling herself.

And all that crap Draco has spewed about not wanting to be like his father. Was that all a lie, just a ploy to get her to trust him? What if all this had been his ultimate revenge?

She stopped herself. She knew that thought wasn't true. She knew that he's feelings were genuine. But why then would he murder her? Had he been put under the imperius curse? Or had he really turned evil and forgotten all about her?

There were too many questions; questions she might never know the answers to. She exhaled a long quivering breath, trying to suck back down the sob hanging in her throat.

_I definitely won't be taking potions or divinations next year._

* * *

She couldn't remember what they had done that day in Care of Magical Creatures, just that Blaise had asked her about a hundred times if she was okay. They walked to potions together and Blaise attempted small talk but she had tuned him out as she tried to prepare herself for what she was going to do after class.

Daria and Blaise entered the potions classroom to find Snape already there. "You're late again, Miss McVey," he announced with an evil grin.

Daria glanced at her watch, "But Sir, according to my watch class doesn't start for another minute."

"Well seeing as you are always saying your watch is slow, Miss McVey, I do not accept it as a reputable time source. Instead we shall be going by my clock which says," Snape shot a glance at the classroom clock just as it switched to 3 o'clock, "You are late. Five points from Gryffindor, now take your seat."

Daria let out an exasperated sigh before talking her seat next to Draco. His hand immediately slithered to her knee and she felt her heart beat accelerate.

"Today we will be making Animus Potion or, as it's more commonly known, Liquid Courage," Snape began, "This potion will give you courage to do things you want to do. For example, if you really want to get an A in this class, this potion could make you go to the library and actually pick up a book for once."

Courage potion? Daria wasn't sure if it was a blessing or a curse. This potion could give her the strength she needed to break up with Draco. It could help her do the thing she really didn't want to do.

Draco sat back down beside her after going to get the supplies and the two began working.

"Are you nervous?" he questioned as they chopped ginger roots.

She knew that he had meant was she nervous about telling her friends that evening, but she had no intention of telling them.

"Yes," she nodded. She was incredibly nervous, but not about what he thought.

"Well maybe the potion will help," he replied, giving her a reassuring smile.

"Yeah, I hope so," she sighed and they continued working in silence.

* * *

Daria took in the scene around her with an amused smirk. Snape had obviously underestimated how horny his class full of teenagers was. Apparently the thing that most of her classmates wanted to do but didn't previously have the courage to do was make out. The funniest pair was Goyle and Millicent Bulstrode. They looked like a couple of dogs trying to lick peanut butter off the other's tonsils.

Draco was busy trying to fend off Pansy and Daria would have been laughing about it if it wasn't for that terrible feeling in the pit of her stomach that a month, a week, or maybe even a few days from now, Draco wouldn't be stopping her.

"Class dismissed!" Snape roared, trying to break up the orgy in his classroom by throwing books at students, "Go back to your dorms and take a cold shower!"

"Bugger off Snivellous!" someone called but it was impossible to distinguish whom it was with all the craziness going on around the room.

"Who said that?!" Snape demanded, "Come forward now so I can expel you!"

This class obviously hadn't gone the way Snape had planned it. No one was skipping off to the library to do homework. Daria grabbed her bag, still smiling at the insanity around her and trotted out the door. She didn't feel the potion had had much of an effect on her, but the class had certainly put her in a better mood.

* * *

"Daria! Wait up!" she heard someone call and the next second a hand wrapped around her wrist, stopping her in her tracks. She turned to look into Draco's blue eyes.

_This is it,_ she thought as she opened her mouth to begin her speech about how they weren't right for each other and about how it wasn't going to work out.

"Draco, I..." he instantly cut her off, taking advantage of her mouth being open in midsentence to insert his tongue.

Her eyes widened in shock as she quickly thought about what she should do. The courage potion had obviously had an effect on him, but this wasn't going to make things any easier for her. How was she supposed to break up with a guy who only wanted to play tonsil hockey?

She felt him snake his arms around her waist and realized she was acting like a deer in headlights, standing there wide-eyed and unmoving while he was trying to make out with her. She hadn't even made a conscious decision to respond before she started kissing him back. She placed her hands on either side of his face and pulled him closer to her so she could explore his mouth with her tongue.

She started mentally screaming at herself because this was not what she was supposed to be doing. She was supposed to be dumping him, not snogging him. The courage potion was supposed to help her, not hinder her.

_It is helping me... __To do the thing I want to do._

She didn't want to break up with Draco, which was why the courage potion wasn't helping her. She needed to break up with him, it was the smartest thing to do, but that still didn't mean it was what she wanted. This would not end well. The courage potion was definitely a curse.

She felt a cold hard wall press against her back as he pushed his body against hers, moving his hands along her curves. Daria opened her eyes to try to look around. The middle of the hallway probably wasn't the best place for them to be going at it, especially since not very many people knew about them and she was hoping to keep it that way.

Suddenly she felt the wall behind her begin to shift and they both pulled apart and turned to look at it. The door to the Room of Requirement had appeared behind them. Draco smirked and grabbed her hand to lead her inside, but she already knew what awaited in the room before the door was even open.

_A bed..._

As soon as the door had closed behind them, Draco pushed her up against it before she had time to object. His lips found hers again and his hands went to her shoulders, brushing off her robe and letting it fall to the floor. She ran her fingers through his soft platinum hair before he slid his hands under her ass and lifted her up. She bound her legs around him and felt her senses start to heighten. She breathed in the scent of his cologne that she could swear was giving her a high and felt her entire body tingling at his touch. Her heart was pounding in her chest as she moved her hands down to his chest and unfastened his robe, sliding it off his shoulders, before she moved to his tie and shirt buttons.

(**Author Warning**: Smut ahead. If you choose not to read it then just skip the rest of this chapter. Nothing else of importance happens besides dirty things... except perhaps the last sentence. Also I'm switching to mostly Draco's perspective here because honestly, these things seem to be so much better when they are written from his view, I'm not really sure why.)

Draco smirked against her lips as she finished unbuttoning his shirt and pulled it off of him. He really wanted to convince himself that all this wasn't due to the courage potion but it had probably provoked them just a tiny bit. He moved his hands upward, stopping to caress her breasts before he pulled her tie off and ripped open her shirt. There was no time for buttons in passionate moments like these. She gasped at his bold action but he just widened his smirk and pulled away from her lips to get a look at her exposed midsection. He scanned over her with his eyes that kept going back to her heaving breasts, still mostly hidden by her bra, but he had a good view of her cleavage, something that was rarely seen since she was usually in a button down shirt.

He noticed the slight blush growing in her cheeks due to him ogling her and he quickly brought his lips back to hers so she wouldn't feel uncomfortable; then he moved his hands to her back to unfasten her bra. She slid it off the rest of the way and he resisted the urge to look down again. Instead he pulled her closer so he could feel her bare chest against his. He noticed how tight his pants felt as he pressed himself against her and she must have noticed too because her cheeks felt hot with her blush again. He resisted the urge to chuckle at her innocence and took immense comfort in the fact that her and Pothead must not have gone this far.

It was beginning to seem like one of those times where the wall wasn't the most conducive venue for what was happening, so he tightened his grip around her waist and started toward the bed, pulling off her boots on the way. He laid her down on the bed and pulled away again so he could stand over her and take her all in. His eyes trailed over her body and realized there was still something in the way. His hands immediately shot to the top of her skirt, pulling it down in one swift move. Her cheeks instantly turned red again so he climbed on top of her and pressed his lips back against hers, running his fingers through her long hair.

She sucked at his bottom lip and arched her back, pressing herself against him. He groaned slightly at the feel of her almost naked body against him and slowly trailed his fingers down to her knickers while he continued to kiss her feverishly. He cupped his hand between her thighs, over the thin material of her panties. She stiffened under him and stopped responding to his kiss. He brought his lips down to her neck and started kissing along her jaw line, not doing anything with his hand, but not removing it either.

"It's okay, baby," he whispered in between kisses, "Just relax."

He felt her loosen her muscles slightly before he brought his lips back to hers and waited until their tongues were in sync again before he slowly glided his middle finger over the damp spot on her panties. She inhaled sharply but continued to kiss him as he continued to rub his hand between her thighs.

She reached up and started trying to undo his belt making him smirk against her lips. He removed his hand from her and helped her unbutton his pants before he slid them off along with his boxers, before pressing himself against her thigh. She ran her fingers over his chest and stomach as he started to slip her panties off, tossing them to the floor, before moving his hand back between her legs. He realized how wet she was and felt his groin begin to throb with longing.

He lowly slipped one finger inside her, then a second, making her sigh into his mouth and wriggle beneath him. He glided his fingers in and out of her for a few minutes while she writhed and moaned against him before his self-control was spent and he moved to position himself between her hips.

He pulled away from her lips and started sucking and nibbling at the flesh on her neck. He could feel her pounding pulse beneath his mouth and brushed his lips along the fluttering near her throat, making her breath quicken.

"We could always stop now, if you don't want to do this," he whispered hesitantly, hoping she wouldn't accept his offer.

He pulled his head back to look into her sparking emerald eyes, which were full of turmoil. She considered how incredibly stupid and selfish she was being. Giving her virginity to Draco was not the best way to break up with him and this was going to make things a hundred times harder for both of them. But the throbbing between her thighs and the pounding of her heart drowned out all of her logic.

"I want to," she smiled before pulling his lips back to hers for a brief kiss and wrapping her legs around his waist.

He groaned at the feeling of her bare flesh against him and pulled her hips against his as he guided his length into her. She let out a shuttering sigh as she felt herself being stretched to the point of pain and tightened her arms around his neck, digging her nails into his shoulder blades.

He brought his lips to her ear and breathed a comforting shush, "I'll go slow, love. If it hurts too much tell me and we can stop."

Daria bit her lip and nodded before he slowly slide back out of her a few inches and carefully glided back in, being sure to rub his hips against hers as they came together to stimulate her most sensitive spot. She gasped in pleasure as he did it again and again, rubbing in all the right places.

Draco freckled kisses along her neck and clavicle as she continued to sigh in delight, trembling softy at the new sensation below her navel. He knew he wouldn't last long, he had been pining over her for what felt like an eternity, and by the way she was quivering against him, she probably wouldn't either.

He inhaled a shaky breath as he tried to calm the heat growing in his stomach as he continued to pound his hips against hers. He could feel her muscles shuttering around him as she neared her peak and took extra care to rub his hips against her clit between thrusts.

She let out a stuttered moan as she tightened around him, shivering in bliss as she came undone. She felt a pulsating heat consume her as he pulled her closer and with a few more thrusts she heard him groan into her neck as his warmth entered her.

He rolled off of her and draped his arm around her waist, pulling her closer to him as her eyelids began to flutter in exhaustion, from both the physical exertion and not getting any sleep the night before. He kissed her check delicately and stroked her sweat-dampened hair as she gave into fatigue and rested her head against his chest.

As she felt herself drifting out of consciousness, she vaguely heard him whisper something in her ear, "I... you."

**A/N: So I really hoped you liked this chapter. This is the longest and most detailed intimate scene I've ever written so I hope it turned out ok. Leave me a review and the next chapter should be up soon (hint: the more reviews I get the faster I write)**


	33. The one with the morning after

Daria yawned loudly and buried her face into her pillow. It was still dark so she wanted to get a few more hours of sleep in, but something was off. Her pillowcase was entirely too soft and a masculine scent filled the air instead of the usual floral scent of the Gryffindor girls' dorm.

When she felt rustling beside her she nearly jumped out of her skin and sat straight up.

_This is definitely not my bed._

She was in the Room of Requirement and next to her lay a blond sleeping figure.

_Draco._

The events of the previous night came flooding back to her and she was immensely grateful that Draco was still asleep so she could hyperventilate in peace.

She cursed the courage potion up and down and cursed herself for acting so foolishly.

She thought back to the last words she had heard before falling asleep. Had he told her he loved her? She felt her heart tighten in her chest. Love was the first part of the prophecy.

He could have said something else though, right? Maybe "I hate you." Although the context seemed a little off, unless of course she had just been that terrible at sex.

He could have said any other word between the 'I' and the 'you'. 'Love' seemed highly unlikely.

She felt him begin to stir next to her and she quickly got up and collected her clothes before slipping back into them.

"Morning beautiful," he smirked as he watched her getting dressed, "What's your hurry? Come back to bed."

Daria turned away from him and glared at the wall before muttering, "Draco, I think we should break up."

She heard him tense up behind her, "Are you joking?"

She shook her head quickly, "We're just not good for each other. It'd be best if we stopped this now."

She turned her head slightly to take a look at him, but wished she hadn't. There was a red-hot fire growing in his eyes.

He swiftly got up and slid his boxers back on before waltzing over to her. She could tell he was forcing himself to remain collected. "Was last night that bad?"

She inhaled a ragged breath and closed her eyes before blurting out the next part, "Dumbledore took me to the ministry the other night and there was a prophecy about me and you. It said one of us was going to destroy the other and then yesterday in Divinations a saw a vision of the future and you kill me, Draco."

Draco let out a sigh and started messaging the bridge of his nose, "You have impeccable timing. You know that? You couldn't have bloody told me this earlier?!"

"I tried to after potions but you didn't let me," she explained desperately.

"And you didn't fucking stop me!" he shouted, turning his angry eyes up to hers. "Did it ever occur to you that, perhaps, the reason I kill you is because you do stupid stuff like this? What, you think breaking up with me will keep me from becoming evil? That's the most backwards thing I've ever heard!"

Daria puffed out her chest and narrowed her eyes. She wouldn't let him talk to her like that. "You're going to turn to the dark side no matter what I do and I can't watch you destroy both of us. You can't just blame others for your terrible judgment."

"Do I mean nothing to you?!" he yelled, glaring straight through her eyes into her soul. "Because how could you possibly stand there and do this to me mere hours after I told you that I love you?!"

Daria's breath caught in throat and she relaxed her stance a little. So he had said it, she hadn't been imagining it.

"That's how the prophecy starts," she sighed, a single silver tear running down her cheek. "We're supposed to fall in love, then we destroy each other. That's why we can't be together. Don't you understand? The closer we get, the closer we get to the prophecy coming true!"

"Look me in the eye and tell me you don't love me too," he demanded, still staring her down.

"Whether I do or don't is irrelevant!" she snapped, "Damnit, Draco, you're going the be the next dark lord!"

"Do you think I don't know that?" he growled. "Why the hell do you think I was an ass to you before school started? Did you think I liked being mean to you? I didn't want to drag you into all this but then we saw that damn vision and you wouldn't stop trying to bloody talk to me. Do you have any idea how hard it was for me to stay away from you when you kept looking at me like... well, like that!"

Daria was unaware that she had assumed the doe-eyed schoolgirl look until he has pointed it out and quickly pushed back down the butterflies so she could focus on his first line. She reminded herself that she was angry with him. "You knew you were to succeed Voldemort this whole time and you kept it from me?" she hissed.

He rolled his eyes, "I thought it might be a little too heavy for the first date."

"And what about the weeks after that?!" she growled, "You couldn't find a spare moment to mention it?"

"I had convinced myself that you would leave if you found out," he sighed, his hand going to his temples this time. "And I was right."

"You don't have to become that, Draco," she whispered, placing a hand on his shoulder, "You said yourself you didn't want to be like your father. So choose your own path."

"I don't have a choice," he grumbled.

"You always have a choice," she insisted, "You could join The Order and fight against him. You could change your fate and ours."

"You don't fucking understand!" he yelled, bashing his fist into the nearby wall, "You stupid Gryffindors, always trying to fix things that are beyond your control. I have to do whatever he tells me to do or he'll kill my mother, my father, and you. He'll kill everyone I love and then where would I be?"

"On the right side," she sighed before she started gathering up her robe and her bag that were still on the floor. "You say you have to do whatever he tells you to? Even kill me?"

"You know that's not what I meant," he growled, taking a seat back on the bed, "I'm trying to protect you."

"Well from the looks of the future, you're doing an excellent job," she snapped. "I can't keep doing this. I thought you had changed but as it turns out, you're planning to destroy the world. No matter what you're reasoning is for doing it, I can't stand back and watch. When the time comes I will fight against you, and I will lose, but that won't stop me from trying. I will do what is right, Draco; regardless of what it costs me. I'll make sure that we never get this close again... That should make it easier for both of us."

Daria looked up at him but couldn't see his eyes behind his hands. His voice was scratchy when he spoke, but the anger had faded, "Do you regret it?"

She sighed and wiped away a stray tear, "I'll never regret any of it."

Then she turned and left him there, alone, his face still buried in his hands. Her heart felt like someone was beating it with a sledgehammer.

She stumbled down the corridors toward the Gryffindor common room, her eyes blurred with tears that she was trying to prevent from spilling over. She glanced at her watch and saw it was seven. She wouldn't have time to lie in bed and let herself fall apart before classes.

She finally found herself in front of the picture of the fat lady and tried to compose herself before entering, but her eyes were still wet with fresh tears. She muttered the password and made a beeline for the dorm stairs.

"Daria?"

She froze in her tracks and turned her head toward the familiar voice. She spotted Ron's fiery hair as he stood up from a chair and approached her. She thanked Godric that Harry wasn't with him.

Ron took in her tear stained face as he stood in front of her and looked concerned, "Are you alright?"

Daria quickly nodded, "Fine. Have you seen Hermione?"

Hermione was the one person she should talk to about Draco; the one friend that she had told about him.

Ron shook his head, "Not this morning. She's probably still upstairs."

Daria turned away from him and went to head up the steps.

"Hey, Daria," he started and she glanced back at him over her shoulder, "You know you can tell me anything, right? I mean we're best friends. I'd never judge you for anything."

Daria gave him a small smile and momentarily thought about mentioning Draco to him, but decided against it. She knew that even if he wouldn't judge her, he still wouldn't understand, and it seemed silly to tell him about it now, after they had already broken up.

"I know. Thanks, Ron," then she dashed up the stairs toward her dorm.

**A/N: So this chapter was quite a deal shorter than the last mondo chapter and it was so much easier to write. In case you haven't noticed, I'm a dialog oriented gal so since this chapter was basically just one big conversation I was able to get it typed up quickly. So what did you think of it? *Ducks for cover as readers throw things* I know a lot of you are probably very upset right now and I won't give you any words of hope for fear of giving anything away but please keep reading because the story isn't over yet... not by a long shot. Oh and leave me some reviews too, they totally make my day. Also, sorry for any typos. I know from experience not to trust my proofreading after 1 am but I really wanted to go ahead and update. Tomorrow I'll proofread again and fix any that I missed.**


	34. The one with fucking Pansy Parkinson

One day. One single day. Less than a whole 24 hours. That's how long it took Malfoy to move on.

The day they had broken up, he spent moping around and looking very sorry for himself. His usual air of arrogance lost beneath his sorrow. It made Daria's heart ache to see him like that.

Then the next day fucking Pansy Parkinson was back on his arm, looking smug as usual, and he was back to strutting around looking superior to everyone else around him. That day he didn't even give Daria a second glance. They worked in silence in potions and acted like nothing had ever happened. It killed her a little inside and she thought about shooting a few more hexes his way.

* * *

The day before:

Daria burst into the girls' dormitory and let out a sigh of relief when she saw Hermione was the only inhabitant. She felt the hot tears start spilling down her face as Hermione looked up from her book at the disturbance.

"Daria?" Hermione closed her book and neared the hysterical girl. "Sweetie, what's wrong?"

Daria wordless jumped into Hermione arms and started sobbing against her bushy hair.

"Where were you last night? What happened?" Hermione questioned while trying to comfort her crying friend. Her thoughts shot to Malfoy and she wondered what that prick had done to her.

"Draco told me he loves me," the red head coughed out between muffled sobs.

Hermione pulled away to look into Daria's bloodshot eyes and quirked an eyebrow. Surely she had misunderstood; Malfoy admitting love? That didn't sound right at all. And if it were true, then why was this a cause for despair. Didn't Daria like him?

"Oh no, that's terrible," Hermione scoffed.

Daria chuckled a little in spite of herself but quickly started bawling again.

"Sweetie, why are you crying?" Hermione asked, stroking her friend's hair gently. She had never seen Daria like this before.

"We broke up," she wailed, hugging Hermione tighter.

Hermione was again baffled. This hardly seemed like the normal course of events in a relationship. Hermione was no expert but she didn't think people usually broke up over love.

"Daria, I don't understand," Hermione sighed, still trying to comfort the girl. "Did something happen?"

Daria shook her head, "Not yet, but it will."

Daria explained about how Dumbledore had taken her to the Ministry and about the prophecy. She intentionally left out the part about her vision in Divinations.

"Well, for what it's worth, I think you did the right thing," Hermione comforted with a reassuring smile.

"Are you just saying that because it's Malfoy? Cause he seemed to think I was a pretty big idiot," Daria sniffed, wiping away a few left over tears on her cheeks.

Hermione snorted, "I'm not just saying that. If there was a prophecy like that about you and Harry then I would encourage you to stay away from him too, and you know how cute of a couple I think you two make."

Daria gave her a weak smile.

"Now go take a shower so we can go to breakfast," Hermione continued. "You reek of him."

Daria felt another tinge of pain at those words; she wasn't sure if she was ready to wash him away just yet. After a moment she nodded and grabbed a clean set of robes before traipsing to the bathroom.

After her shower, Daria dried off and put her hair into a side braid, not feeling like fighting with her curls today. She grabbed her shirt and started buttoning it when she noticed the necklace Draco had given her, the emerald heart, was still around her neck. She felt a squeeze at her heart as she went to take it off, but couldn't bring herself to undo the clasp. Instead she sighed and tucked the necklace into her shirt so it wouldn't be seen. She could take it off later, but for now she still wanted a piece of him to hold onto.

Daria took one last ragged breath to compose herself and willed herself to be strong today, before she headed down to the common room to meet her friends.

* * *

Draco lay on his bed, glaring up at the ceiling. Today had definitely been the worst day of his life, at least so far. Everywhere he looked he saw her, talking with her stupid bloody trio or joking with stupid bloody Zabini. Potions class had been a hell on earth. The entire time his hand ached to reach out to her but he knew that if he did she would surely push him away.

He felt so weak, getting this bent out of shape over a girl. He was Draco Fucking Malfoy for Salazar's sake! He was the school heart breaker. Never had he been rejected like this.

Blaise walked into their dorm and took in the sight of Draco glowering at the ceiling again.

"What's the matter with you?" Blaise raised an eyebrow. "You've been in a mood all bloody day."

"Nothing is the matter," Draco spat, "I'm just fan-fucking-tastic."

"Do you want to talk about it, mate?" Blaise asked, approaching his friend to try to offer comfort.

Draco scoffed, "Does it look like I want to talk about it? We're not bloody women, we don't talk about our feelings and braid each other's hair. Honestly man! What are you thinking?"

"Well excuse me," Blaise rolled his eyes, "Just trying to help."

"You want to help? Get me some shit to break or something," Draco grumbled, "Or better yet, just sod off. The ceiling and I would like some alone time."

Blaise sighed loudly at his stubborn friend but exited the dorm.

After the door was closed, Draco grabbed at his bedside table and picking up the first thing his fingers touched, which turned out to be his potions book. He sat himself up before hurling the book angrily across the room. It hit the opposing wall with a loud thud.

The outburst gave Draco little relief and he quickly felt his eyes begin to burn from an all too familiar prickly sensation. He closed his eyes and let out a ragged sigh, mentally slapping himself. He had promised himself that he wasn't going to cry after his melt down in the Room of Requirement after Daria had left him.

He brought his hand up to his face and started massaging the bridge of his nose.

He vaguely heard the dorm room door open again but didn't look up. "Zabini, I told you to get out."

He heard the door close and a few seconds later his mattress shifted under the weight of a second body. He instantly looked up angrily at the intruder and was a little surprised to see Parkinson sitting at the foot of his bed.

"What do you want?" he growled, sizing her up with his eyes to see if he could figure out the reason for her invasion.

"I heard you were having a bad day," she smiled, "I thought maybe you could use a friend."

"I have friends," he grumbled, "And you are certainly not one of them."

Pansy's smile didn't falter. "What's wrong, Draco? Did you and your filthy mudblood girlfriend break up or something?"

"Halfblood," Draco corrected, not bothering to put the effort needed into a sneer.

"Is there really a difference?" Pansy scoffed, flipping her hair.

Draco didn't respond but instead continued to glare at her.

"I'm not your enemy, Draco," she started, this time more serious, "You and I, we're on the same side. We have to stick together. You are destined to do great things and you need a great woman by your side. Not some dirty daughter of a blood traitor."

More glowering. She really wasn't helping, if that was even what she was trying to do.

"And if she was stupid enough to let you go," she continued, with a smug smile, "Then she really doesn't deserve you. You know, I can take it away, Draco. If you let me."

Draco relaxed his stare slightly and cocked an eyebrow, "Take what away?"

Pansy slid closer to him so the side of her hip was resting against one of his crossed knees and looked into his eyes meaningfully before she continued. "The pain. I can make you forget all about her and her filthy blood. I can take it all away and make you happy," she leaned herself closer to him as he watched her curiously, "All you have to do is let me."

Then she closed the space between then with her lips. He just sat there, stiff as a board, while she kissed his longingly. Once she realized that he wasn't responding she pulling away and looked back into her eyes while she undid his tie, "I can make you forget about that ungrateful halfblood."

This time it was him that closed the distance as he pressed his lips against hers. He wanted to forget. He wanted the unreturned love he felt for her to disappear. He didn't particularly want Pansy, but he wanted to be happy and her promises seemed oh so sweet.

Pansy smirked against his lips before she started unbuttoning his shirt.

**A/N: So yeah. This chapter was pretty sad. Sorry Daria didn't go running back to Draco so they could skip through a field of rainbows and butterflies... that's what I was hoping for too. But alas, that is not how the story goes. Please leave me some reviews and the next part will be up shortly... And remember, the more reviews I get the faster I type ;)**


	35. The one with dirty blood

Daria walked into Potions class and glanced around the room. Blaise and Draco were already there so she took a deep breath and sauntered toward her seat. She sat down and intentionally turned as much toward Blaise as possible.

"So I've been wondering," she began, catching his attention. "I hardly ever see you with Luna anymore, how are you guys doing?"

Daria had decided that her new hobby was going to be interfering with other peoples' love lives since her wasn't that great.

"We're doing okay. We usually only get to see each other after dinner but that's enough," he shrugged.

"So is she actually your girlfriend now or are you two still just casual?" Daria pried, placing her head in her palms to show she was interested.

He shrugged again, "We're not official, but we aren't really seeing any other people. I don't really want to take any big steps though, since it probably won't work out. I mean she's great, but we're very different people."

"So?" Daria argued, "Why does that matter? You know opposites often attract. I think it's best when two people aren't exactly alike."

Blaise frowned, "Well lets just say, that I doubt my mother would approve. Certain things are expected of me." He tensed slightly, "But potions class probably isn't the best place to discuss this stuff, and you probably wouldn't understand anyway. You don't know what the pureblood world is like."

Daria glared at him before glancing back at Draco who was pretending to read his beat up looking potions book but his eyes weren't moving around the page like they do when one reads.

"Really?" she hissed back to Blaise, "You're going to be like that and pick sides? You and I were friends long before me and Malfoy got together. You don't get to do that."

He looked at her seriously, "I'm not picking sides, but I also know my place and if the gap between worlds is go great that you two decided to break up then why should we delude ourselves? Why should I continue to persue Luna or be friends with you when I know after Hogwarts there is no chance for us."

Daria rolled her eyes and spat out her next words, "You Slytherins are all the same. Bloody cowards. Sitting around complaining about how bitterly unfair your lives are but yet too afraid to do anything to improve them."

"That's enough," a husky voice breathed behind her and she turned to find Draco glaring at her. She shot daggers back at him.

"What did you say to him?" she snapped.

"As usual, I didn't tell him anything," he growled back, "He's just smart enough to draw his own conclusions and for once he actually arrived at the right one."

Daria scoffed, "For once? If I recall correctly, all of his conclusions have been accurate except for this one. Merlin! Are you losing your memory or is some of Parkinson's stupidity rubbing off on you? You know, you are who you sleep with."

"You know, I've never heard that expression before, but I guess that means I have filthy blood too," he quipped earning him a hard slap across his cheek that echoed through the room.

Daria grabbed her bag and stormed out of the class, ignoring the gasps and stares from her classmates. Luckily, Snape hadn't arrived yet to reprimand her.

Daria tromped down the halls, going nowhere in particular but ended up next to the lake. She dropped down to her knees and threw her bag aside. She felt a hot tear making its way down her face and angrily wiped it away. She wouldn't let herself cry over that worthless prat.

She wanted to destroy something and felt around for a rock to throw but her hair got tangled up on her wet face from the wind. She quickly fought it off, smoothed it down her neck, when she felt her fingers glide across something. The necklace.

She grabbed the chain, pulling it off her neck, and glared at the green heart in her palm. She gritted her teeth and pulled back her arm to launch it into the lake but her fingers stuck to it like it was glue. She muttered a few profanities under her breath before she gentled fastened it back around her neck.

Merlin, she was weak. She couldn't even toss a stupid necklace that an asshole had given her.

_That's wrong. _

An asshole hadn't given it to her, a man who loved her did. She wasn't sure where he was anymore and she was pretty sure she had killed him, but she didn't want to forget him, especially since this was all she had left of him.

"Daria?"

Daria's head shot up when she heard a masculine voice behind her and saw a familiar red head standing there. She quickly tried to wipe away the tears that she had failed to stop from falling.

"Hey Ron," she gave him a half smile but it probably looked very fake beneath the tears that were still dripping from her eyes. "What are you doing out here?"

"I could ask you the same thing," he replied, sitting down next to her. "Professor Sprout got some weird plant virus and had to go to the hospital wing, so my class was let out early."

"I had a hard time in potions," she sighed in response to his question.

Ron looked a this watch, "Didn't potions just start five minutes ago?"

Daria breathed a humorless chuckle, "Yeah. This happened before Snape even got there."

"Do you want to talk about," he asked, placing an arm around her shoulders.

Daria shook her head and felt another tear escape.

He nodded, "Okay then."

Daria sighed and heard the next few sentences just fly out of her mouth. "Blaise doesn't want to be my friend anymore. We have all our classes together and we've been friends all year, but now he wants to disown me because of my blood. All because of stupid..."

She immediately closed her mouth; she was about to say too much.

"Because of Malfoy?" he finished, looking at her meaningfully.

Daria's eyes widened to the size of saucers. She opened her mouth to reply but only managed to raise an eyebrow at him.

"I got to thinking about what Luna said over winter break and I started to wonder if maybe she was right," he started, "And then when we went to the feast after the train ride, I noticed he was watching you again and I realized that there was something going on between you and him. I was afraid that little bugger would do something to hurt you but I didn't want to say anything to you incase you were happy. Plus I figured that Hermione had already told you how stupid you were."

Daria snorted, "Oh yes, she was very thorough about telling me what a idiot I was."

"Maybe I should have said something though, or at least hexed him. Perhaps then you wouldn't be crying right now," he sighed as he glared out at the water.

Daria gave him a smile, "It wouldn't have helped. Either way I would have ended up heartbroken."

"What did he do? Did he hurt you? Cause I'll kick his bloody ferret ass," Ron growled.

Daria shook her head, "No, he didn't do anything to hurt me. I'm the one that hurt him; I broke up with him. That's why he's being mean to me and that's probably why Blaise hates me."

"Well Malfoys aren't made out of glass," Ron chuckled, "They are made out of pure evil; that can't be broken, even by you. If he's being mean to you then that's just because he's naturally a prick."

Daria smiled halfheartedly and rested her head against Ron's shoulder, letting a few more tears fall. She felt her voice quivering as she spoke, "He said I made his blood dirty."

Ron scoffed, "If anyone was polluted from this, then it was you. You're the good one, the pure one. If anything, he should hope that some of your goodness rubbed of on him."

He wrapped his other arm around her and pulled her into a tight hug, "Come on, I'll take you to the kitchen and find you some chocolate."

**A/N: So this chapter was a little on the short side and it went in a completely different direction that I meant for it to go in (Ron wasn't originally in this part) but I think it worked out well. Let me know what you thought in a review and the next part should be up soon.**


	36. The one with the rogue beaters

**A/N: So if I would have thought about it, I probably would have included the beginning of the chapter in the last chapter but the idea didn't hit me until it was already published... I debated whether I should write it or not but I think it really ties things together well, plus I know how much everyone likes hearing more about Draco so just think of it as a fun bonus =)**

Draco watched as Daria stormed out of class and his hand instinctively went up to his stinging cheek. He shot a glare around at his gawking classmates, "Well what the hell are you looking at?!"

"That was pretty low, man," Blaise sighed, "Talking about her blood and sex life in the middle of the potions classroom."

Draco glared up at the ceiling before bashing his fist against the table, "Fuck!" Then he stood up and hurried after her.

Blaise was right, he had taken it way to far. Just because she had hurt him didn't mean he had to do the same; that was some pretty flawed logic. He didn't want to see her sad.

He felt stupid hope building up in his chest. That perhaps, if he went and apologized to her that she would fall into his arms and realize how stupid she was being. He could never do what Blaise was going to do. If it were up to him, he'd keep Daria around as long as possible and that way, if someday this war separated them, at least he'd have the memories instead of all this misery. He'd take her over Pansy any day, but at least Pansy wanted him. Daria didn't even want to be with him anymore.

He finally found her sitting by the lake but ducked behind a tree when he noticed her red head wasn't the only one there. Weasley was beside her with his arms around her. He hadn't gotten there in time and now instead of falling into his arms she had fallen into the blood traitor's. He scolded himself. Her coming back to him was only a hopeful delusion he had come up with. She probably would have just screamed and slapped him again.

He turned and slid his back down the tree until he was resting on the ground. He placed his face in his hands and angrily grabbed fistfuls of his hair. There was no winning here. No matter what he did, he knew she wouldn't come back and he didn't know what to do with that information. Should he wallow in self-misery? Should he hate her? Should he let Pansy in? What could he do?!

He heard footsteps approaching and looked up as Weasel and Daria passed by him. Daria was furthest from his spot and didn't see him but Weasel shot him a curious look. Draco didn't even bother to try to look intimidating as the red head gawked at him. How could he possibly look scary here in a crumbled mess on the ground? Instead he just watched the two of them walk away with a blank stare.

_It's better this way,_ he told himself. It was best if she hated him, that's what she should have done all along. If she hated him, then he wouldn't be able to hurt her.

* * *

It took a whole week, but Ron finally convinced Daria to go to the Slytherin vs Hufflepuff quidditch game with Harry, Hermione, and him. She agreed, mostly just incase Malfoy or Zabini got hit in the head with a bludger. She didn't want to miss something like that.

Daria took a seat in the great hall between Ron and Harry, Hermione sat across from them along with Luna who never seemed to know which table she was supposed to sit at. Daria noticed that Luna's dreamy smile was gone, but she was still staring off into space as usual.

"Good morning, Luna," Hermione greeted cheerfully.

"Oh good morning," Luna sighed, still staring off into the distance. "I'm supposed to commentate this morning but I don't really feel like it. You see, my boyfriend just broke up with me. I think he's planning to become a death eater. It's a real shame."

Everyone at the table stared at her wide-eyed.

"Did I say something I shouldn't have?" Luna asked innocently, taking in everyone's shocked expressions.

"That's terrible, Luna," Harry gaped, "Are you talking about Zabini?"

"Yes," Luna nodded, "But it's not that bad, really. I mean I understand why he broke up with me."

"No, I mean him becoming a death eater!" Harry exclaimed, drawing the attention of a few nearby students.

"We don't know anything for sure, Harry," Daria corrected. "She said she thought he was planning to. Even she doesn't know. Let's not jump to conclusions."

_Why am I defending him? _Daria asked herself. She decided that it was because Harry tended to blow things out of proportion. If Harry thought Zabini was a death eater then he'd be accusing him of kicking puppies and killing muggle borns before the day was over.

After her and her friends had convinced Harry that Blaise wasn't going to kill them all, they headed out to the quidditch pitch. Daria was sure they got a seat up in one of the towers so she would be able to see Malfoy clearly, even though she'd never admit it. He had saved her during their game together and she had decided she would return the favor if it became necessary, even if he was a stupid prat.

Both teams gathered in the middle of the field and Madam Hooch make Malfoy and Smith shake hands before she blew her whistle and they all flew off. Malfoy immediately flew up high above the game to scan for the snitch, completely ignoring his team as they beat up the Hufflepuffs.

Ron placed a friendly arm around Daria and pulled her closer so he could whisper something that Harry wouldn't hear, "If you want, I could hex is bloody ass out of the sky."

Daria snorted, "That's alright, mate. We wouldn't want his father to hear about that."

Ron started chuckling, which earned him a funny look from Harry and Hermione.

"We have some beautiful clouds today," Luna's dreamy voice came over the microphone, "Oh look, that one resembled a nargle."

"Anyone know what a nargle looks like," Daria looked to her friends with a smile.

"No idea," Harry replied, staring up at the clouds in concentration, "But I'd love to find out."

"Doesn't Blaise look rather dashing in his Slytherin robes? If only he wasn't such a tool," Luna commented. McGonagall telling her not to comment on players' appearances or personalities could be vaguely heard from behind her. "Oh no, that bludger nearly took his head clean off!"

Daria's eyes shot from Malfoy to Blaise as a bludger whizzed past his head. He stopped dead in his tracks and glared in the direction the bludger had come from. Goyle.

Blaise sped over to him before he started shouting, "You fucking moron! You nearly beheaded me! I'm on your bloody team!"

Blaise continued to yell at him. They were soon joined by Crabbe, who accompied Goyle in glaring at Blaise, before the two beaters started swinging their bats at him. Blaise shrieked and started speeding away but Crabbe and Goyle gave chase, still swinging.

"It appears that the Slytherin beaters are attacking their own team mate. I wonder if that's a foul," Luna pondered.

Finally, Malfoy felt the need to involve himself and flew up beside Crabbe while shouting at them, "Get off Zabini! Go get the Hufflepuffs, you dimwits!"

But Crabbe and Goyle didn't listen and kept swinging. One of the poorly aimed swings from Crabbe hit Draco square in the chest and had enough force to knock him backwards off his broom.

"Draco!" Daria screamed, standing up to get a better view, but her voice was drowned out among the crowd. She watched anxiously and was prepared to cast an arresto momentum as he clung to his broom handle with both hands. Luckily he had a firm grasp, unlike when she had fallen with a broken arm.

Ron stood up next to her and encouraged her to sit back down, so she took her seat next to Harry who was watching her curiously. She continued to watch Draco with bated breath as the realization hit her like a ton of bricks. She couldn't stop the prophecy from coming true because she would never love anyone as much as she loved Draco Malfoy. No amount of time or distance could change that. And sadly, neither could him acting that a total ass, because she of all people knew that it was just that, an act.

Draco shouted obscenities at Crabbe and Goyle as he watched them continue to go after Blaise. Madam Hooch was sitting idly by but didn't make a move to intervene; instead she looked rather amused. Daria realized that everyone around her was laughing at the Slytherin brawl, except Ron and Hermione, who were watching her cautiously.

While still muttering a string of profanities, Draco pulled out his wand and aimed it in the direction of Crabbe and Goyle before casting a curse. Goyle's hair combusted into a mess of flames and he started screaming again as he streaked down the field, flailing his arms frantically. Even Daria was laughing now as Crabbe and Blaise, along with everyone else on the field, stopped to watch the flaming Slytherin fly around in circles screaming like a little girl.

Daria glanced over at Draco who had just managed to potion himself back onto his broom. He shot her a guarded look before a glint of light caught his eye and he started speeding off after the snitch that had appeared in front of his face. Madam Hooch finally decided to intercede and was chasing Goyle, trying to put him out, but he wouldn't slow down for her as he continued shrieking and speeding around in circles. His broom suddenly gave a kick and he went flying, landing with a loud thud on the ground below, extinguishing the flames on top of his now bald head.

The crowd erupted in a mix of cheers and boos as Draco appeared again, raising his fists in triumph, the snitch's wings visible between his fingers. Daria and her friends all stood up to cheer.

"This makes us tied with Slytherin for the quidditch cup," Harry explained, "If we just beat Hufflepuff then we'll win this year."

Daria smiled up at him, "That will be easy. We could beat Hufflepuff blindfolded. I mean look at this," Daria pointed toward the field, "Goyle bloody caught fire and Malfoy fell off his broom, and they _still_ won!"

* * *

Daria lingered at the quidditch pitch after the game had ended and the stands had cleared. She told herself that she wasn't sure why she stayed, but she knew deep down it was so she could see him, despite the fact that it was highly illogical.

She loitered against the wall of the locker rooms, waiting for the Slytherin team to finish changing. She decided it was because she wanted to go in and get her broom so she could fly a few laps.

She heard the door next to her open and saw a head of blond hair emerge.

"I told you, you should take their bats away," she stated, causing him to look up at her.

He snorted, "Yeah that probably would have helped."

"You should probably go ahead and start looking for a new henchman. I think Goyle has officially lost his scary factor," she smirked.

"I'll just have to make sure he starts carrying around a bat with him," he quipped.

An amused smile flashed across her lips and his eyes immediately shot to them, making her tense up.

Draco fought the longing in his heart and tore his eyes away from her, "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, I was just..." Daria started but a shrill voice interrupted her. "Draco! There you are!"

They both looked up and saw Pansy coming their way. Her face fell when she noticed Daria.

"Come on, love," she cooed, locking Draco's arm into a death grip, "Everyone is waiting for you at the common room party. We don't have time to chit chat with mudbloods."

"Half-blood," Draco and Daria corrected in unison, earning Daria a glare from Pansy.

"Whatever," she scoffed before pulling Draco toward the castle.

Daria peaked inside the locker room to make sure it was empty before she went inside to grab her broom.

**A/N: So I tried to add a little comic relief in this chapter but it still ended up being pretty ansty =X But that okay since this is a romance/angst. I still hope you guys enjoyed it though. Oh and good news. There are now page breaks in all the chapters! I had them in the word documents but they didn't show up so I went through and added them. Be sure to leave me some reviews ;)**


	37. The one with Daria pining for Harry

Daria sat in the Gryffindor common room having yet another internal battle with herself. She had her ipod next to her and 'The One That Got Away' by Katy Perry was currently playing; it wasn't helping.

She didn't know what to do. She had been deceiving herself to think that she wasn't already in love with Draco. But that didn't necessarily mean they should be together, right?

And surely, after what she had done to him, he wouldn't want her back. Not after she had ripped out his heart and stomped on it. That was why he had fled to Pansy.

_He's going to be the new dark lord. T__hat's why we broke up, not because of lack of feelings._

There was the problem. She wouldn't become a death eater; she would fight to destroy them. And he wouldn't fight for anything. He'd just sit back and watch people die and suffer to protect himself and the people he loved.

_But is that such a bad thing? __He doesn't want to have to watch Voldemort kill his family... or me._

True, it wasn't as noble as her stance, but it wasn't a terrible stance either. What would she do if the death eaters were going to torture and kill Draco unless she joined them? Suddenly, his views didn't seem quite so skewed. His actions were those of a desperate man.

But then there was her vision. Draco was going to kill her. What could they possibly do to make him do that? Had it been because he honestly believed that she didn't love him because she had pushed him away? Had they used the imperius curse on him? Or had he simply decided that his life was more precious than hers and killed her to save himself?

She leaned her head back and glared up at the ceiling while she ran her fingers through her hair. If she'd had a book handy, she would have started bashing her head against it. The school year would be over soon and Draco had caused her more turmoil this year than she'd experienced her entire life. Things should not be this complicated.

"Daria?"

Daria looked up to see Harry watching her cautiously, "Are you ok? It looks like you're on the verge of a mental breakdown."

Daria scoffed, "Thanks, Harry. Sorry I don't look quite sane enough to you."

"I'm serious. You've been lying around here listening to depressing music for days now. Should I be worried?" he raised his eyebrow as the song switched to 'Come Home' by OneRepublic.

Daria shook her head, "No, Harry. You don't need to worry. I'm fine." She gave him a weak smile.

He chewed on his lip for a moment, debating whether or not to push further but decided against it and headed upstairs to his dorm.

Daria leaned her head back again and starting half mouthing, half whispering the lyrics. "There's someone I've been missing; I think that they could be the better half of me. They're in the wrong place, trying to make it right, but I'm tired of justifying..."

Harry got to the foot of the stairs and glanced back at Daria just as she busted out into song. He sighed and climbed the stairs to his dorm.

Ron was the only occupant and Harry sat down on his bed next to Ron's.

"I think Daria regrets breaking up with me," Harry sighed as he started fiddling with his class ring.

Ron raised an eyebrow and smiled smugly, "I thought she didn't dump you, it was mutual."

Harry shot him a glare, "That's irrelevant. I think she might want to get back together."

Ron's eyebrow didn't budge, "Did you come up with this all on your own or did she say something?"

Harry shrugged, "She's been moping around here listening to sad music, what else could it be?"

Ron scoffed, "Because of course she must be upset about you. She does revolve around you after all."

Harry rolled his eyes, "That's not what I meant. She acts like someone who just went through a break up, and I'm the only guy she's dated this year."

"You don't think she's dated anyone else for three months?" Ron asked, seriously.

"She hasn't," Harry argued, "Zabini was a dead end and the only other guys she hangs out with are us. So unless she's been hooking up with you then she must be upset over losing me."

Ron chuckled humorlessly, "Well you are the chosen one after all. Whose to say that after three months of being completely fine with breaking up with that, she's not still pining desperately for you."

Harry hit him in the arm, "Shut up, Ron."

Ron rolled his eyes and stood up to go get his pajamas on.

"She talks to you a lot more than she does me," Harry started, "She's not seeing anyone, is she?"

Ron chewed on the inside of his cheek for a second before shaking his head, "No, she's not."

* * *

Daria would be lying if she were to say that her classes that week had been completely uneventful, but each day the same events unfolded.

Daria went to breakfast and tried to keep her eyes to herself. Then she went to History of Magic with her friends and tried to keep her eyes from wandering to the back of the room. She went to Divinations and sat next to Blaise, who completely ignored her. She went to lunch and stared at her plate so her eyes wouldn't shoot to him. Next, she went to Care of Magical Creatures where Blaise still ignored her but she spent the time talking with Luna about how Slytherin guys were scum. She went to potions where Draco and Blaise both ignored her; Pansy usually hung around Draco's seat until Snape came in. She went to dinner with her friends and then she retired to the common room to listen to music and do home work until it was time for bed. These events repeated themselves every day and she still was no closer to figuring out what she wanted.

Today potions class had taken a turn though. Snape had called the class to order and chased Pansy back to her seat before he began, "Today we will be making Polyjuice potion," the entire class let out a collective groan. "Silence. You will not be testing this potion though; so sadly you won't have to walk around as your partner all evening."

Daria pondered what it would be like to have to be Draco for an evening while he went to get the ingredients.

Once he returned, Daria decided to try to make small talk while they crushed lacewing flies. "You know, Crabbe and Goyle look much more intimidating since they started carrying around the bats with them."

She could tell his guard was up, but he gave her a small smirk, "Yes it was my idea; one of my more brilliant ones, if I do say so myself.

"Nice to see you're talking to me today," she stated plainly.

He cocked an eyebrow and his mouth turned downward slightly, "I was never ignoring you, I just didn't feel the need to break the silence. Honestly, I could have easily assumed you were ignoring me."

"You deserve to be ignored," she glared into her mortar.

"Again, I could say the same about you," he shot back, but didn't sound angry.

"How's your pug?" she asked, trying to change the subject even though this one surely wouldn't be any less tense.

He shrugged, "Annoying. She's convinced that if she lets me out of her sight that you'll start blowing me right in the middle of class."

Daria chuckled humorlessly before clearing her throat, "Are those her words or yours?"

"Oh most definitely hers," he rolled his eyes, "That's a direct quote."

"Lovely," she scoffed.

Daria felt the silence begin to creep back over them and racked her brain for something else to say.

"What are we now?" she asked, trying to sound casual but she could hear the tone of desperation in her voice, "Are we enemies?"

Draco quickly looked up at her and furrowed his eyebrows. "I've never been your enemy, Daria. I figured you of all people would know that," he sighed.

Daria looked away and nodded, "Okay then. Glad we covered that."

They went back to crushing flies in silence but Daria felt a little better than she had that morning.

**A/N: So what are your thoughts about the story so far? I love to hear ideas and suggestions as too what you want to happen next and what you think about what is currently happening. Leave me some reviews =)**


	38. The one with Ginny in the middle

"Quidditch practice after dinner," Harry announced as he took a seat across from Daria and Ron.

"You know, you never actually greet us," Daria stated, "You just bark orders at us. It's never 'Oh good morning, my two best friends in the whole wide world. Would you care to join me for a rousing quidditch practice this afternoon?'"

"You forgot Hermione," Harry replied before taking a bite of his toast.

"Where is she anyways?" Daria questioned, glancing around the room, "Is it just me or has she been avoiding us?"

"Our final exams are coming up," Ron shrugged, "Where do you think she is?"

"The library," Daria and Harry both sighed in unison.

"Do you think she'll at least come to Hogsmeade with us?" Daria looked to Ron for an answer.

"I doubt it," he grumbled, "She only leaves the library for classes."

"Well then," Daria smiled evilly, "We might actually be able to have some fun on this trip."

"I wouldn't get your hopes up," Ron rolled his eyes, "With old 'kill joy' over there tagging along."

Harry shot them a glare and Daria chuckled, "Harry just has a different idea of fun than us. While we enjoy drinking games and being mean to people, he enjoys being sneaky and trying to get us all killed."

"It's a miracle all four of us are still alive," Ron chortled.

"Apparently, some people are still under the impression that I died in the Chamber of Secrets, or they wouldn't have dubbed us the golden trio," Daria explained, "It really hurts to be excluded just because of one little rumor about my gory death."

"Didn't Malfoy start that one?" Harry added, causing Daria's grin to falter slightly.

"That he did," she nodded, "He got a good chuckle the next few days when I scared the crap out of most of the first years. I still think Colin Creevey is convinced I'm a ghost."

Daria shot a menacing look at Creevey, making his jump slightly before her and Ron busted out in a fit of laughter. Harry just rolled his eyes.

* * *

Daria sat at the edge of the woods next to Luna during Care of Magical Creatures. There was a puffskein between them that they were supposed to be observing but it just sat there humming while Luna stroked it.

"So Luna," Daria started, "We've talked about how stupid guys are until we were blue in the face, but you never told me why exactly Blaise broke up with you."

Luna smiled dreamily, "If I recall correctly, I haven't been the only one withholding details."

Daria nervously glanced down at her hands, "I'd rather not talk about it. Too many people already know way more than they should."

"I understand," Luna smiled, "There's really not much to tell. Blaise didn't really explain much. He just said that they would be getting it soon and it was best to go ahead and break up."

"Who would be getting what?" Daria questioned.

"Well the dark mark, of course," Luna replied, for once looking solemn, "And it's obvious, isn't it? He was talking about him and Draco."

Daria felt her stomach churn uneasily, "Did he say how soon?"

Luna shook her head, "No. He said it'd be best if I knew as little as possible. But that's silly since he already told me he was getting it."

"Did you try to talk him out of it?" Daria probed.

"Of course," Luna nodded, "But I can tell he's scared of something. I think it's probably umgubular slashkilters. I've heard you-know-who has some."

Daria had grown rather fond of Luna over the past few weeks, since Luna was the only one who understood what she was going through. Daria had even gotten used to her being completely mental.

"Oh, look at that, he's staring at me again," Luna sighed dreamily.

Daria turned to see Blaise watching the two of them intently. When he caught Daria's eyes we quickly turned back to his puffskein.

"Why do you think he does that?" Daria pondered. Luna always caught him watching the two of them during class; sometimes multiple times a day.

"Because he loves me," Luna smiled.

"Oh?" Daria replied, "I didn't realize you guys had been that serious."

"Oh he never actually told me," Luna responded, "But I can tell. Just like I can tell Draco loves you."

Daria felt a painful squeeze at her heart and looked back down at the ground. "He used to," she sighed, "But now he seems pretty happy with Parkinson."

"He still does," Luna reassured, "Maybe someday, when all this is over, all of us can be happy and we can go on double dates."

Daria scoffed but couldn't stop the corners of her lips from curving up at the idea. "Someday," she repeated thoughtfully.

Luna always seemed to know just what to say and it really helped Daria to be around her. Hermione was too busy to talk lately, and neither her nor Ron really understood anyway.

Daria came to the realization that Luna was right. For now, someday would have to suffice because now was not the time. Now was full of terrible things and Draco would be becoming a death eater much sooner than she had prepared herself for. There was no getting back together now, so someday would have to hold her over for now, and someday seemed not only very far away, but highly unlikely.

* * *

Ron and Daria were playing a fun little game called 'Keep the Quaffle Away From Ginny.' Ginny always seemed to be the butt of their jokes and Daria almost felt sorry for the poor girl... almost.

"Come one guys!" Ginny shouted as she flew back and forth between Ron and Daria, "Harry is going to be pissed when he gets back and we aren't practicing."

"Oh please," Daria laughed, "He thought he saw the snitch all the way over near Hagrid's hut. It will take him ages to get back."

"Always do everything Harry tells you to, Gin?" Ron rolled his eyes, "Just because he's captain, doesn't mean we can't have a little fun."

"This isn't fun!" Ginny argued, "It's immature! Now give me that quaffle."

"Or what? You'll tell on us?" Ron chuckled as he tossed the quaffle back to Daria.

Ginny shot him a glare before she flew off toward Hagrid's hut.

"Go ahead!" Ron called after her, "We ain't scared of him!"

"And she thinks were immature," Daria scoffed.

"McVey! Weasley! Get back to practicing!" Harry ordered as he approached the field, Ginny on his heels.

"We're just practicing Daria's catching skills," Ron explained innocently, "She's a bit rusty since she broke her arm."

Daria nodded in conformation and Harry sighed in exasperation before he turned back toward the snitch, leaving them there to continue picking on Ginny.

* * *

After practice, Daria laid spread eagle in the middle of the pitch, staring up at the rising moon and the first few stars of the night.

"Why do I always find you laying on the ground?" Harry shook his head with an amused grin as he approached her.

"The ground is just so comfortable," Daria shrugged, "It makes me feel like I'm dead."

Harry raised a wary eyebrow before lying down next to her.

"This reminds me of something," he stated as the two of them stared up at the stars.

"Our first kiss," Daria replied without hesitation.

Harry was silent for a long moment before he cleared his throat, "So I've been thinking."

Daria furrowed her eyebrows. "I don't like it when you think."

Harry chuckled, "Don't you even want to know what I was thinking about?"

Daria turned her head to look at him, "Does it matter? You're going to tell me anyway."

"I've had a lot of time to think since we broke up," he started, "And I've been wondering if it would have been better if we had stayed together."

Daria raised her eyebrow, "You think we should get back together?"

"Well if you want to," her shrugged, "Why not?"

"Aw that is so romantic," Daria fake cooed before she started laughing.

"Shut up," Harry grumbled, "Can you for once in your life take something seriously?"

She stopped laughing but an amused grin was still plastered on her face, "I'm sorry Harry, you're right. This is serious."

Harry nodded to show he accepted her apology. "So what do you think? We could be like we used to be and you could wear my ring again."

Daria glanced nervously down at his hand where the ruby ring was. "I don't think so Harry," she sighed, "I'm not really looking for a serious relationship right now."

His face fell and she quickly backpedaled. "But we could always start out casual and see where it goes," she suggested, "The year end Hogsmead trip is coming up. We could go together. Just as long as we don't go to Madam Puddifoot's again."

"What about Ron?" he asked, skeptical of her answer.

"He can be our chaperone," she smirked, "To make sure you don't get too handsy."

Harry chuckled, "I guess that could work. I do have one question though."

Daria raised her eyebrow, motioning him to continue.

"By casual, do you mean we could also date other people? Like if I wanted to bring three other girls to Hogsmeade," he grinned.

Daria smiled and shrugged, "Like you could find that many girls who'd want to go with you."

Harry chortled and rolled his eyes, "You are not a very nice person. Come on, it's getting late. We should go back inside."

Daria nodded in agreement and stood up to follow him back to the castle. He reached for her hand but she nonchalantly tucked it into her pocket. She felt a pang in her heart and reminded herself that Draco Malfoy was no longer an acceptable option.

**A/N: I'm really hoping all of you don't hate me right now =X I'm trying really hard to stick to the original plot and this is how it plays out, but don't give up hope. This is a DM romance after all. Guess you'll just have to keep reading to find out what happens. Leave me some good reviews and I'll update soon.**


	39. The one where Daria plays dirty

Daria took her assigned seat between Blaise and Draco in potions class. As usual, Pansy was buzzing around Draco like a mosquito. She was prattling on about something and Draco was adding the occasionally necessary 'mmhmm's and 'whatever's. Daria rolled her eyes at the couple and turned toward Blaise.

"So that was a pretty crazy COMC class today, huh? It's weird how similar Witherwings looks to Buckbeak," she started, hoping to get a response out of him.

Blaise shot her a wordless glare before turning his full attention to his book.

_Yeah, I guess I deserve that_.

Daria sighed and turned back to face the front of the class.

"Sit down, Miss Parkinson," Snape sighed as he entered the classroom, causing Pansy to scurry back to her seat.

"Today we will be making muffling draught," he continued, "I've been instructed not to let anyone actually drink it, but the effects from inhaling it alone should hopefully be enough to keep you hooligans quiet for awhile. Get to work."

"So..." Daria started as her and Draco waited for the dragon blood to boil

He turned his eyes toward her suspiciously and waited for her to continue.

"Are you coming to the game tomorrow?" she asked, trying to sound more casual than hopeful.

He shrugged, "I was planning on it, even thought I doubt it will be nearly as exciting as when Slytherin played Hufflepuff."

Daria snorted at the memory, "You're probably right. I don't know how Gryffindor can compete with players combusting."

He smirked momentarily before frowning and clicking his tongue. "We don't have to do this, you know," he sighed as he focused himself on adding some fairy wings to the cauldron.

"Do what?" she asked, quirking an eyebrow.

He gave her a sardonic look. "Sit here and make small talk about quidditch, then maybe, if we are feeling adventurous, move on to the weather."

She raised her eyebrows, "Well what would you like to talk about? Philosophy? The meaning of life?"

He rolled his eyes, "We don't have to talk at all. Wouldn't that be easier?"

"No," she responded bluntly, "I already have to sit through Trelawney's class in utter silence because Blaise refuses to acknowledge I exist. I'd prefer to not have to keep my mouth shut for another hour of the day. If you don't want to talk, you could easily take a page out of Zabini's book and ignore me."

"Zabini has good reason to ignore you," Draco shot, "You were a total bitch."

"I was just stating the obvious," she glared.

"You know, you're such a hypocrite. You get pissed at him for not wanting to be your friend because of the war but yet it's perfectly ok to leave me because of it," he snapped.

"Last time I checked, Blaise wasn't going to murder me," she hissed.

He narrowed his eyes in a glare. If Daria hadn't seen the future already then she would have thought this look would kill her.

"Do you have any idea how insulting it is to know that you trust some stupid glass ball over me?" he spat. Every syllable laced with venom.

Daria gaped at him for what felt like an eternity before he turned away from her and started grinding up a bicorn horn.

She blamed the effects of the muffling draught for her inability to speak to him for the rest of the class, but in all honesty she didn't know what to say.

* * *

After class Daria headed to the great hall and sat down across from Ron. Harry and Hermione weren't there yet.

"So," Ron smirked, "You and Harry, huh?"

"Shut up, Ron," Daria snapped.

Ron chuckled, "Sorry, I just didn't really think you were interested in him. I thought you were into mass murderers these days."

"I said I'd go to Hogsmeade with him, not marry him," Daria shot, "Its no big deal."

"Seemed like a pretty big deal to him," Ron corrected, "You know he's been mad about you since third year. I used to think that you liked him too."

Daria sighed. "I used to."

"What changed?" Ron pried.

Daria shot her eyes to the Slytherin table where Draco was sitting with Blaise and Theodore Nott, discussing something that looked to be very serious judging by the grim looks on their faces.

"Oh I get it," Ron rolled his eyes, "You have a thing for evil blond assholes."

Daria scoffed but didn't respond.

"Don't worry. We all have some dodgy exes," Ron reassured, "I mean look at Lavender."

"I think your ex is much worse than mine," Daria smirked but didn't like the taste the word 'ex' left on her tongue.

* * *

The Gryffindor quidditch team was all gathered in the locker room waiting for the game to begin. Harry was giving a speech that Daria was successfully tuning out as she watched a ladybug crawl around on the ceiling and hummed the jeopardy song in her head.

"And Daria..." Harry added, shooting her a reprimanding look.

Daria turned her attention back to him and tried to look innocent, "Yes?"

"I don't want to see any of your usual crap today. We don't need any fouls," he replied sternly.

Daria feigned a hurt look, "Why Harry, what ever do you mean?"

She caught Ginny and Katie rolling their eyes at her and the beaters, Jimmy and Ritchie, exchanging an amused look.

"Do you need a list? No putting any of your body through the hoops, that includes flying completely through them. No wand usage. No stealing the quaffle from teammates," he stated, and then he looked like he had thought of something else and quickly continued. "And no taking any plays from Malfoy's book and catching people on fire. Even the other team."

Daria's mouth shot open in amusement, "Now why would you think I would play like the Slytherins?"

"Because I know how your devious little mind works. And I won't soon forget how you used a silent confundus charm on the Ravenclaw keeper last game," he scolded.

"Hey! I was taking a page from Granger's book there!" Daria objected but he ignored her comment.

"It's time to go," Harry announced and picked up his Firebolt before opening the locker room doors.

Daria sighed and rolled her eyes at him before grabbing her Nimbus 2001 and getting into formation with her fellow chasers.

* * *

Daria sat in the empty locker room lacing up her boots, trying to delay going back to the castle as long as possible. She was really hoping that Harry wasn't planning on giving her a victory kiss at the celebration party, but seeing how they were going to win the quidditch cup this year she had a bad feeling that he would be extra excited.

She grabbed her bag and contemplated cleaning it out to waste a few more minutes but decided against it since she had already stayed out so late. She pressed her shoulders against the locker room door and pushed on it hard since the door usually stuck, but to her dismay it flung right open causing her to lose her balance and stumble toward the ground.

A pale arm shot out across her midsection and caught her before she fell face first into the dirt. She looked up into a familiar pair of grey eyes as Draco pulled her up and steadied her before pulling his arms away and taking a step away.

"Thanks," she breathed, trying to control her racing heart. She told herself it was from the fall.

He raised his eyebrow and nodded once to acknowledge her gratitude before he spoke, "Took you long enough. I was beginning to think someone had stuffed you into a locker."

Daria furrowed her eyebrows at his statement and felt her heart beat flutter.

_He was waiting on me_.

Of course he was. She had started something dangerous by waiting for him at his last game. She mentally kicked herself for leading him on.

He took in her silence for a moment before he decided to change to another topic, "You know, you complain that the Slytherin team plays foully but I saw you blatch Cadwallader out there."

She looked up at the amused smirk on his lips and frowned. "At least I don't hit people with bats and push them off their brooms, and I knew he'd move out of my way. Besides, neither Harry nor Hooch saw it so it's not technically a foul."

"Oh don't get me wrong, I like it when you play dirty," his smirk grew, "And you'd think Saint Potter would approve of bending the rules as often as he does it himself."

"Draco," she sighed, "You were right. We don't have to do this."

Draco's smirk fell and his eyes flashed with frustration, "So what? We're allowed to chat about quidditch when you want too because you have no one better to talk to, but not when we're standing in the middle of a bloody quidditch pitch?"

"I like talking to you," she admitted, hesitantly, and tried to choose her next few words carefully, "I just think it means something different to you than it does to me. I don't think that you're ready to just be friends yet, and I don't know if we'll ever get there. But I don't want to string you along with some false hope that maybe we can resolve our problems. It's not healthy, for either of us."

His eyes were contemplating as he chewed on his tongue, digesting what she had just said. After a moment he opened his mouth and tried to keep himself collected as he spoke. "Do you really think I'm under some delusion that we're going to get back together? Do you think that you haven't made it perfectly clear that you don't want a relationship with me? I'm not stupid, Daria. Give me a little bit of credit here. I personally, don't equate talking about quidditch to flirting, but hey, sorry if I gave you the wrong impression. If you'd like I can try to glare at you more often."

Daria exhaled a small chuckle and looked down at the ground nervously. "You're right. I was being stupid. It's just when I saw you had been out here waiting on me my brain went into over analyzing mode."

"Well don't flatter yourself," he rolled his eyes, "I was just waiting to get my broom so I can start packing for summer break. But if you'd prefer, next time I'll just come on in once the rest of your team is gone; it's not like it's anything I haven't seen before. I was just trying to be a gentleman."

Daria scoffed, "You? A gentleman? I think the word you're looking for is womanizer."

He smirked, "Well if that's how you feel then I'll definitely just barge in next time."

He winked suggestively before he disappeared into the locker room. Daria wasn't sure if she should be relieved at his light behavior or worried and his mood swings were starting to give her a headache, but she decided that it was too late for her brain to go into overdrive right now. Instead she inhaled a long breath to try to clear her head and headed up to the castle.

**A/N: I was sure to add lots of Draco in this chapter just because I love you guys ;) Next chapter will be the year-end hogsmeade trip and probably the last part before school lets out for the summer. Hope you liked the chapter and please leave me some reviews so I'll be inspired to write faster =P**

**Oh and I posted some pictures for the story on my profile so be sure to check them out.**


	40. The one with the kneazle

**A/N: Congratulations! We've made it to part 40, which to me is just mind blowing because the original only had like 19 parts and right now we've only covered like half of those. You may have noticed that all the story parts ending in 0 tend to be more eventful and fairly longer than the other parts and usually have a fun plot staple... this one will be no different.**

******Also, if I could make a song suggestion, I feel this chapter really reads well with 'A Thousand Years' by Christina Perri, 'Arms' by Christina Perri, and 'Kiss me slowly' by Parachute. I'll probably reuse those songs later on Daria's ipod but incase I don't I wanted to add them here =)**

Draco growled as he felt the sunlight against his eyelids and rolled over to try to bloke it out.

"Malfoy, it's already nine. If you want to do your make up before we go to hogsmeade you should go ahead and get up," Blaise stated from his spot on his own bed.

Draco looked up long enough to shoot him a glare before burying his face back in his pillow. "Bugger off, Zabini."

"He's always so cranky in the mornings," Blaise complained, rolling his eyes.

"It's probably because you're so damn chipper," Theo replied.

"Will you two bloody shut up! I'm trying to sleep over here," Draco grumbled into his pillow but they ignored him.

"So, do you two boys have dates today or are you taking each other?" Theo asked with a grin.

"I don't have one," Blaise shrugged, "I'm sure he does though."

"Pansy isn't a date, she's a menace," Draco groaned, finally giving up on sleep and sitting up.

"So ask someone else," Theo suggested, "Surely you can find other girl willing to go with you. That is if they aren't still laughing about you pissing yourself on the train."

Draco shot him a glare, "That never happened. Someone preformed a spell on my pants."

"Oh yeah?" Theo asked, in obvious disbelief, "Who?"

Draco paused for a moment to decide if he wanted to answer the question or not. "One of Scarhead's friends."

"I bet it was the red head. Right?" Theo questioned.

"In case you haven't noticed, Pothead's got himself quite a few of those," Draco rolled his eyes.

"The one that isn't a Weasley," Theo clarified, "She's the one that hexed you at the after party right? That girl has got it in for you. What did you do to her?"

"Who knows," Draco shrugged, not really wanting to go into the details of his and Daria's complicated relationship with Nott, "She's probably still upset that I told everyone she died second year."

"I forgot about that," Blaise chuckled, "Poor Daria. You were so mean to her."

"Daria?" Theo raised an eyebrow, "You're on a first name basis with her, Zabini?"

"I swear to Salazar, if one more person accuses me of dating her..." Blaise growled.

Theo started laughing, interrupting Blaise's rant. "Chill man. I'd never assume you were dating a mudblood, even if she is hot."

Draco gritted his teeth and stood up to head to the bathroom.

"Don't forget your hair spray," Blaise chuckled.

Draco held up his middle and index fingers before closing the bathroom door behind him.

(I'm assuming Draco would flip people off the British way, for those American's wondering why the hell he'd be giving Blaise a peace sign =P)

* * *

Daria had gotten up early that morning to go to the library and try to convince Hermione to come to Hogsmeade with them but was unsuccessful. Daria was a little relieved that'd it'd just be her, Harry, and Ron though. That way it'd be less of a date and more of a gathering. As opposed to if Hermione came and turned it into two dates.

When the three of them arrived at Hogsmeade, Daria did everything in her power to keep the three of them together. They went to Zonko's together, they went to Honeyduke's together, and they even had lunch at the three broomsticks together, much to Harry's dismay. After Daria had refused to go back to Madam Puddifoot's again, Harry had tried to at least get Ron to go somewhere else so they could be alone but Daria insisted that he stay. Her reasoning being that she needed someone to share fire whiskeys with since Harry was a lightweight.

"Hey, I got an idea," Ron stated, after taking a sip of his drink, "Let's play a game."

Daria placed her elbows on the table and leaned forward, "What kind of game?"

"A drinking game," Ron replied simply, as if it were obvious.

"Oh no no no," Harry objected, "I had to carry Daria home last time you two drank. You don't need games to go along with it."

"Don't worry," Daria smiled, "You can play too Harry. We'll even let you use your weak little butterbeer."

She turned back to Ron, "Did you have any games in mind?"

Ron shrugged, "You're the resident alcoholic and muggle fanatic. Surely you're more equipped to pick a game."

Daria rubbed her chin and pondered for a moment. "How about 'I Never'?" she suggested.

"That's a good one," Ron agreed, "Are we doing truths or untruths."

"We can do both," Daria replied with grin, "You just might end up drinking to your own statement. And, Ron, since you suggested it, you can go first."

They heard Harry sigh loudly but he didn't try to argue.

"Alright," Ron started, as he tried to think of something to say, "I never pushed someone off their broom."

Both boys looked to Daria expectedly and she took a drink of her fire whiskey before trying to defend herself. "That was one time and Flint had it coming. It's your turn Harry."

Harry thought for a moment before he spoke. "I never cried because of a spider."

Ron shot him a glare before him and Daria both took a drink.

Daria smirked as she figured out what she was going to say. "I never asked someone I didn't like to a dance because I was too scared to ask the person I did like."

Harry and Ron both took a drink.

"I never had sex," Ron grinned before taking a drink. Daria did as well.

"What?" Harry furrowed his eyebrows and looked back and forth between the two.

"Well not with each other!" Daria clarified quickly.

"That's not what I was thinking," Harry explained, "I'm just a little shocked."

"Felt the need to brag, huh?" Daria asked, turning to Ron who was still grinning. "What would Hermione think?"

His grin fell, "What happens in the Three Broom Sticks stays in the Three Broom Sticks. She doesn't need to know I said anything."

"But what about you?" Harry asked as he stared at Daria, mouth still agape.

"That's my business," Daria shrugged, "This game doesn't require explanations."

Harry still looked confused but decided not to push it. "I'll be right back guys, I'm going to go to the loo."

Ron and Daria both nodded in acknowledgment as he got up to leave. Ron was still watching Daria intently but waited until Harry was out of earshot to speak.

"You didn't," he asked in disbelief.

Daria didn't make eye contact and took another sip of her drink.

"You did!" he groaned, "Daria..."

"I don't want to talk about it," she shot, "It's none of your business."

"Does Hermione know?" he pressed.

Daria nodded solemnly, still refusing to look at him.

"I'll bloody kill that little ferret," Ron growled, "Next time I see him I'll hex his ass so hard he'll be walking funny for a week."

Daria rolled her eyes and sighed, "No you won't. I want you to leave him alone, Ron, and act like you don't know anything."

"But he took advantage of you," he argued.

"I already told you I'm the one that dumped him," she hissed, "And I don't want you to breath a word of this to anyone. Especially him, or so help me, Ronald, I will..."

Just then Harry exited the bathroom and Daria quickly closed her mouth after she shot Ron a warning glare.

"I think I've had enough drinking for one day," Harry announced. "Do you guys want to go to the Spintwitches now?"

"Sure, Harry," Daria smiled and quickly downed the rest of her fire whiskey before standing up to leave. "Come on, Ron."

The three friends left the Three Broomsticks and headed down the road. While they walked, Harry casually put his arm around Daria's waist. She resisted the urge to squirm away and instead continued silently walking as the two boys discussed what quidditch gear they wanted to look at. As much as she didn't like the closeness to him, Daria was glad Harry had his arm around her as she realized just how tipsy she was. She could swear the cobblestones beneath her feet were slithering around.

They paused outside Spintwitches to admire the new brooms displayed in the window. Daria glanced around while the boys ogled over the broomsticks and noticed a new shop.

"Oh look, there's a new pet store!" Daira squealed, pointing at the store. She had been saving up to finally get an owl and was planning on getting one that summer at Diagon Ally.

Ron and Harry both looked up and shrugged before turning back to the brooms.

"Why don't you guys go in without me," Daria suggested, "I'm going to go check it out."

"Alright. We'll see you in a bit," Harry smiled and gave her a peck on the forehead before going into the quidditch shop with Ron.

Daria turned and headed down the street with a grin.

* * *

Draco and Pansy left Zonko's together, Pansy's hand suctioned onto his. He rolled his eyes when she clutched his hand harder as Daria and her friends passed by.

"Come on, Draco. Let's go to Honeyduke's now," she suggested.

He shrugged and started to let her lead him away when he noticed Potter. He had of course seen Potter when Daria had walked by, but he hadn't noticed Potter's hand around Daria's back.

"Pansy, I just remembered, I need to go to the bookstore. You can come if you'd like or you can go ahead to Honeyduke's and I'll meet you there," he lied. He knew she'd never want to come look at books with him.

She contemplated her options for a moment before she released his hand and headed toward Honeyduke's.

Draco stayed glued to his spot in front of Zonko's and watched as Daria and her friends stopped in front of the quidditch shop. He glared at Potter's arm on _his_ witch. Draco's fingers twitched as they ached to grab his wand and curse the home wrecking boy who lived. He could feel his magic burning in his finger tips and had to remind himself that Pothead was probably the one person who didn't know about him and Daria.

He continued to watch as Daria talked to Scarhead. Potter nodded and placed his lips on Daria's head causing Draco's feet to start moving him forward. Pothead and Weasel went inside the quidditch shop and Daria turned away and started walking down the road. Draco followed her.

* * *

Daria practically skipped toward the pet shop as she thought about how Harry didn't really seem to understand the meaning of the word 'casual.' She briefly contemplated stopping by the bookstore to get him a dictionary after she had her owl. Her thoughts were interrupted though as someone behind her grabbed her wrist and pulled her into a dark alleyway between two stores.

Draco pushed her up against the exterior brick wall of one of the shops and placed his hands on the wall on either side of her head as he glared down into her eyes with his piercing blue ones.

Daria felt her head spin slightly at the sudden movement as the fire whiskey in her stomach sloshed around violently. She stared up at him and waited until he only had two eyes before she spoke. "Well good evening, Draco," she smiled, "Why am I always the one against the wall?"

"What the hell are you doing with that tool?" he hissed, ignoring her question.

Daria patted down her pockets before looking up at him in confusion, "Sorry, I don't have any tools handy. I might have a screwdriver in my trunk though."

Draco rolled his eyes. "You know what I mean, smartass. Why the fuck are you getting all cozy with Pothead?"

"Me?" she glared up at him, "In case you haven't noticed, you have a new parasite that lives on your arm. And I'm quite certain you're sleeping with that parasite, so I don't want to hear any shit from you. You said just last night that you were okay with just being friends so you don't get to be all jealous today."

"Jealous?!" he roared, "You think I'm jealous of that attention seeking, four eyed, scrawny git?!"

Draco continued yelled about how terrible Harry was but Daria tuned him out as she felt her head buzzing from the alcohol and she felt a headache coming on. She closed her eyes to try to ease some of the dizziness and just focused on breathing in and out.

Something peaked her senses though, a smell, a fragrance actually. She opened her eyes and looked around for the source, Draco's angry voice still vaguely buzzing in her ears. She inhaled deeply and tried to place the scent. She could detect hints of mint, cedar, and something fruity. Maybe green apple? It seemed very familiar.

She glanced back to Draco and then, cautiously leaned closer to him. It was his cologne, of course. She rolled her eyes at her forgetfulness. Had she really forgotten what he'd smelled like in just a few short months?

"Am I boring you, McVey?" he snapped when he saw her roll her eyes.

She scoffed, "A little, actually. What were you saying?"

He glowered at her for a moment while he seethed in anger before he started ranting again about how stupid she was for going back out with Harry.

She honestly did try to concentrate this time but his cologne started over powering her and taking over her senses; she could swear she could almost taste it. Her eyes moved to his mouth, which was opening and closing rapidly as he continued yelling at her. She contemplated what she could do to get him to close it.

"Are you even listening to me?" he growled when he noticed that she wasn't even looking into his eyes anymore.

She wasn't really sure what happened, but the next things she knew her mouth was latched onto his bottom lip. She felt his tense body immediately relax as he wrapped one arm around her waist and placed the other behind her neck to try to prevent her from pulling away. He kissed her back without reservation as he pulled her close to him.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and ran her fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck. His cologne was even stronger now that she was closer to him and she inhaled, trying to take him all in; she had forgotten what it had felt like to have her stomach doing back flips and to have her heart trying to pound it's way out of her chest.

But slowly, reality started flooding back to her and hit her like a ton of bricks. She had promised Draco that she wouldn't let him get close to her again. He was in love with her and she had no intention of getting back together. This was going to crush him.

She hesitantly broke the kiss and pulled her face back a few inches, but his hold on her didn't loosen to let her move away any farther. She looked up into his icy blue eyes and felt her heart start to shatter. "I'm so sorry, Draco," she sighed, "I'm drunk."

His eye's searched her desperately as he tried to figure out the meaning to her words.

"That shouldn't have happened," she started, trying to keep her voice steady. "I..."

"Daria?"

Draco released his hold around her just as Ron came into view at the end of the alley, but he held her eyes.

"There you are," Ron sighed, "I've been looking all over for you. What's he doing here?"

"_He_," Draco hissed, not taking his eyes away from Daria, "Was just leaving."

"Draco! Wait," Daria called as he hurried away from the two of them, but he didn't yield.

"What was that about?" Ron raised his eyebrow.

"Nothing," Daria sighed, "Why were you looking for me?"

"I thought I'd help you pick out your owl," Ron shrugged, "Don't want you to end up with one like Errol."

Daria smiled, "Thanks, Ron."

They both turned and headed back down the cobblestone road.

"I don't know about you, I'm a little shit faced," Ron chuckled making Daria giggle.

"I'm not really sure which one of you said that," she chortled.

They entered the pet store and Daria immediately spotted the owls and made her way toward them. She passed by a row of cat cages but something caught her eye and she stopped to take a look.

A pair of sparking silvery blue eyes watched her curiously and she immediately felt her heart start to ache again. The black cat that was watching her had eyes the exact color of Draco's.

She took a step closer and realized that it was no ordinary house cat. It was pitch black with grey speckles down its back and over it's lion-like plumed tail. It's big blue eyes were flanked by it's large pointed ears.

"What kind of cat is that?" Daria asked, turning to Ron for an answer. He just shrugged.

"That's a Kneazle, that is," a slender man with a think southern accent stated as he appeared in front of them. "Very clever creatures, they are. They can detect if someone is suspicious or distrustful and keep their owner from getting lost."

"Kneazle?" Ron repeated, "Isn't Hermione's cat part kneazle? I always thought they looked like pigs."

Daria snorted, but the sales man didn't look amused.

"Is there something in particular you're looking for?" he asked tensely.

"Yeah, she wants an owl," Ron replied, nodding to Daria.

"No," Daria shook her head as she continued to stare at the kneazle, "I want her."

"What? But you can't use that to deliver mail," he argued.

"That's what I have you and Harry for," she smiled back, "I'm getting the cat."

"Because it will be so useful," Ron rolled his eyes.

"Hey, I could use something to tell me if someone is trustworthy or not, because apparently I'm a terrible judge of character," she replied. Ron sighed but must have agreed with her because he didn't press it. Instead he went to grab a bag of cat food.

"Just as long as it helps you stay away from death eaters in dark alleys," he grumbled.

* * *

That evening, Daria decided to wander around the grounds after curfew to test out her kneazle's, that she had decided to name Kiki, ability to keep her away from suspicious people, namely Filch and Mrs. Norris. She was also hopping that Kiki would help her not get lost since it was so hard to keep track of one's self at night at the castle.

Daria strolled around the edge of the lake with Kiki weaving between her legs. She stared up at the stars as she let her mind wander. She thought about when she had kissed Draco earlier and ran her fingers over her lips at the memory. She hadn't realized how much she missed him.

He had been lying when he said he was ready to just be friends and it was quite obvious that their current approach at breaking up wasn't nearly effective enough.

Tonight was their last night at Hogwarts. Tomorrow everyone would be going home for summer vacation and she hated that they'd be leaving things like this. She wished that she had a way to see him, to talk to him, so they could tie up these loose ends.

Suddenly, Kiki darted out from under her legs and started sprinting back toward the castle.

"Kiki!" Daria hissed, running to try to catch her cat, "Get back here!"

But Kiki kept running and Daria tried to keep up. The kneazle weaved through the castle's corridors with quick ease and Daria struggled to keep up.

_So much for helping me not to get lost. At this rate I'll never find my way back to the common room,_ Daria thought in annoyance as she saw Kiki's tail disappear up a flight of stairs.

Daria paused when she reached the staircase and leaned over to catch her breath. Kiki had gone up to one of the towers so now Daria could easily catch up to her at the top. She slowly made her way up the long, winding staircase and when she reached to door at the top she immediately knew which tower Kiki had brought her to. The Astronomy Tower.

"Shoo! Go on, get away!" she heard a voice say through the door and momentarily worried that it might be a teacher that would give her detention if she went in. But she had to collect her cat.

She opened the door and the sight in front of made her giggle.

Kiki was basically chasing Draco around the Astronomy tower and he was trying to shoo and move away from her, but she keep up easily as she weaved her way around his legs.

"What's wrong, Malfoy? Scared of cats?" she teased.

He shot her a glare, "That's not a cat. It's a bloody kneazle. I got bit by one as a child."

"You're still a child," she snorted, "And that's probably because you're a suspicious bloke."

"Just get it to leave me alone," he snapped as he tried to wave Kiki away with his hands.

Daria made a kissing noise with her mouth and Kiki instantly left Draco and started rubbing up against Daria's legs. "Now why couldn't you have done that earlier?" she sighed

"What are you doing up here anyway?" Daria asked, turning back to Draco.

He shrugged before he took a seat on the ground, "I come up here to think some times. What about you?"

Daria nodded toward Kiki, "Schizo cat led me here."

She walked across the room and took a seat on the floor, across from him. "You know, I'm actually glad I found you. I was just wondering if we'd get to talk before school let out."

"Yeah," he sighed, "I was wondering that too."

"So," Daria started, "Do you want to talk?"

He frowned and ran his tongue over his teeth, "What's there to talk about? You were drunk and made a mistake. I get it."

Daria's eyes shot to the ground and she remained silent, absently stroking Kiki's head.

"We can't just be friend, can we?" he stated. It wasn't a question.

She slowly shook her head, "No."

It was obvious that she wasn't over him since she was the crazy lady who had got a cat because it had his eyes. She felt Kiki move from under her hand but didn't bother to try to stop her.

"So what does that make us?" he asked, hesitantly.

"It makes you a Slytherin prick and me a member of the Golden Trio. Natural born enemies, like we're meant to be," she sighed and looked up at him. She was surprised to see Kiki cuddling up to him and him scratching her ears.

He exhaled and stared at her for a long moment, his expression torn like he was having a battle with himself.

"Do you think," he started, cautiously, "That tonight..."

He hesitated for a moment, debating whether or not to continue. Daria watched him anxiously and urged him to continue with her eyes.

"We could just be... us," he finished, searching her eyes to try to gage her reaction.

She stared back at him curiously. _'Us,'_ she repeated in her head. She wasn't quite sure who they were anymore, but she had feeling she knew what he meant.

He got up and sat back down beside her, still keeping hold of her eyes.

"You know I'll have to say no," she whispered sadly, breaking their stare to look down at her hands on her lap.

"Then don't say anything," he breathed, causing her eyes to shoot back to his. "Tomorrow we can be enemies, like we'll be the rest of our lives. But for tonight, let's forget about the war, the future, our families, and our friends. Tonight, let's just be together."

He didn't wait for her to respond before he pulled her to him and brushed his lips against hers. She didn't try to resist him; instead she just gave in to the butterflies in the pit of her stomach as they took over the rest of her body. She wished she were braver and that she could just ignore her feelings; that she could just give him up and never look back. Things would be so much easier if only she didn't love him.

After what felt like only a few seconds he pulled away from the kiss, but his face lingered. His eyes bore into hers and he reached up to gently stroke her cheek with one hand.

"Do you need to do anything before the train leaves tomorrow?" he asked

She shook her head.

"Then stay here with me," he stated.

Daria sighed before she stood up and sat back down on his lap, her legs off to one side. She wrapped her arms around him and laid her head against his chest.

He smirked and rested his chin on top of her head as he stroked her hair. "You know, I really wish I could hate you."

She smiled as she nuzzled her face against his neck, "The feeling's mutual."

**A/N: Wow! Talk about a long chapter! Over 4000 words! This one tops all the rest so far so I really hope it was worth the hours upon hours it took for me to write it. I also hope it had all the emotion I tried to convey as I wrote it. This will be the last chapter of the 6th year and for anyone wondering why Draco didn't kill Dumbledore, I'd like to again state that this story will not follow any of the storyline from the 6th and 7th years. Next chapter will be during summer break and should be up soon. Leave me lots of reviews if you enjoyed the chapter =)**


	41. The one with the invitation

Daria sat at the bar at the Leaky Cauldron, sipping on her usual Fire Whiskey. She had her ear buds in and was listening to 'Distance' by Christina Perri.

Kiki sat on the stool next to her with a saucer of cream in front of her. If not for Daria's kneazle, she was sure her surrounding witches and wizards would think she was a muggle, with her ripped blue jeans, her black t-shirt, and her muggle ipod.

She was letting her mind wander, yet again; back to those last few hours she had spent at Hogwarts. By most people's standards, they had been pretty uneventful; just her and Draco sitting on the Astronomy Tower floor, holding each other and sharing a few kisses, until they fell asleep in each other's arms. But morning had come all too soon and she was forced to tell him goodbye. She'd clung desperately and subconsciously to that memory all summer. The only relief she felt was when she drowned it in alcohol, so she spent most of her days here in this pub and the nights she spent laying alone in her bed until the buzzing in her head lulled her to sleep.

The pain was getting better though. It had been two months since that night and she was slowly starting to forget little details about him. Like how his eyebrows always seemed to be moving, whether it was in arrogance, anger, or curiosity. Like how his blue eyes sparked under the moonlight up in the tower. Of course, Kiki made that even harder to forget. Like how he smelled, of the cedar, mint, and green apple. The alcohol had finally burned the scent out of her nose after it had seeped its way into her sinuses when they were alone in the alley. Like how his lips were always turned up slightly in one corner from his signature smirk.

She stopped her train of thought and took a long gulp from her glass. That wasn't forgetting, it was remembering. Remembering was not constructive in getting over him.

She thought about what Draco would be doing to deal with the loneliness and Daria was pretty sure its name began with a 'P'. That man had terrible tastes in woman. Pansy was the obvious example but Daria was a good one too. She may not have been a terrible person, but she was terrible for him. What a curious pair her and Draco made, an alcoholic fighting for the light side and a nymphomaniac being dragged to the dark side.

She still had another month before school started and she was convinced that by that time she would be over him and wouldn't feel that painful squeeze in her heart when she saw him. In a month she would all but forget about him. All it would take was several more fire whiskeys.

Daria reached over to pet Kiki but found that her fur was standing on end, as she glared across the room. Daria followed her cat's gaze and spotted a head of white blond hair and felt her heart thump violently in her ribcage before she realized that it was the wrong Malfoy.

Kiki was quietly hissing as she continued to glare down Lucius Malfoy. _Of course kneazles don't like Draco's father. Death eaters are the definition of suspicious and distrustful_.

Daria didn't realize that she was staring until she caught a glimpse of his eyes that were eerily like Draco's. She quickly turned away and hoped he wouldn't recognize her. Hell, he couldn't even remember her name, so the chances of him remembering she was a McVey were slim.

She shuttered when she heard his chair scratch against the floor and Kiki bared her teeth as he neared.

"Well Miss McVey," he greeted, his voice greasy and full of condescension, "Fancy seeing you here."

He looked her over and, if possible, turned up his nose even more. "I have an invitation for your mother. Would you care to deliver it too her?"

_I'm not an owl,_ she thought bitterly, but keep her lips tight.

He reached into the pocket of his robe and pulled out a stack of envelopes. "Save me some postage at the owlery," he smirked, "Oh, look, there's one here for you as well. First time for everything, I suppose. It's quite an honor."

Daria resisted the urge to roll her eyes as he handed her the invitations. "Thank you, Mr. Malfoy," she grumbled before tucking them into her back pocket, intentionally smashing them a bit.

He wrinkled his nose, "Good day, Miss McVey." Then he turned on his heel and strutted out of the bar.

Daria's eyes followed him as he left and she momentary wondered if one day Draco would be as oily and patronizing as his father. Granted, he was already well on the path to become a huge dick, but at least he didn't make kneazles start spitting.

Daria placed the money for her drinks on the counter and picked up Kiki before she headed to the fireplace to go home.

* * *

When she arrived back home, she passed her mom in the sitting room, on the way up to her bedroom and handed her the invitation.

Fauna looked the envelope over and gasped when she saw the Malfoy seal. "Where did you get this?"

Daria shrugged, "I bumped into Lucius in town and he gave it too me. Don't feel too special though, I got one too. They must really be lowering their standards."

"There's a ball this weekend," Fauna announced after opening the envelope.

"Oh goodie," Daria scoffed, "Have fun."

"You have to come too," Fauna stated authoritatively, "This is the first time you've received your own invitation. It's a great honor."

"So I've been told," Daria rolled her eyes. "I'm not going and you can't make me. I'm of age."

"Not yet you're not," Fauna snapped, "You don't turn seventeen until the day after the ball so you're going."

Daria sighed angrily and stomped up to her room. Kiki hissed at Fauna before she trotted off behind Daria.

* * *

A week later Daria was lied on her bedroom floor, spread eagle, surrounded by yellow tulle and curly hair. She had her ipod next to her ear, playing 'Wake me up when September Ends' by Green Day and the invitation to tonight's party clasped in her hand.

She was staring up at the ceiling watching her light fixture spin around and around. She felt like she was lying on a playground merry-go-round. She had been straight all week, it was the longest time she had been sober all summer, and it was affecting her. She couldn't remember half of the week, all she recalled was her mom constantly coming in to yell at her for not getting out of bed. But if she was going to have to face Draco weeks before she had anticipated then she sure wasn't going to do it shit faced.

She wasn't sure why he had invited her; it made no sense. He hadn't even invited her while they had been dating; she had just tagged along with her mother. She held up the invitation again and tried to focus on the blurry writing. It started at eleven at night. What kind of party started at eleven?

_Hopefully one containing lots of alcohol._

If everyone else were wasted then it wouldn't matter if she had a few drinks. That was, after she'd showed up Pansy and acted like a proper first class lady. If she was being forcefully dragged to a ball with Draco and his new girlfriend, she at least wanted to act like she belonged there and not risk ripping the bitch's hair out. Of course, if Pansy started shit with her in he fragile withdrawn state, it might be just as bad as if she was drunk.

She glanced down at her yellow dress. It was tightly fitted with one shoulder strap and it flare out at mid-thigh into layers of ruffled tulle.* She had left her long red hair down so it fell freely to her elbows.

"Daira! It's time to go!" Fauna called up the stairs.

Daria sighed and reluctantly got off the floor and grabbed onto her dresser from the dizziness. After she had steadied herself she stumbled out of her room into the hall.

_This isn't going to work,_ she thought sadly, trying to think of something she could do to help. She decided to rummage through her mom's potions cabinet to try to find something that could ease her body's response to being sober.

She scanned through the rows of vials and smiled when she saw one filled with a familiar dark blue liquid. Hangover potion. It may not cure her withdrawal but it was her best bet. She quickly gulped it down and instantly felt the fog in her head begin to clear. She hid the now empty vial in the back of the cabinet and glanced at her reflection in her mother's bathroom mirror.

Something out of place caught her eye and she realized the necklace Draco had given her was visible. If she was going to try to act like she had moved on, she couldn't be strutting around with his necklace on. She sighed before she unfastened it and tucked it into her handbag. Then she hurried down the stairs as she heard her mother start calling her again.

* * *

When Daria arrived at Malfoy Manor, she immediately noticed that this party was much different than the ones she had been to previously. The first difference she noticed was that there was no blaring music pounding against her eardrums. Instead, there was soft instrumental music that was almost ominous.

Then she noticed the people around her and a chill ran down her spine. These same people, that were usually dressed in fancy colorful robes and gowns were almost all wearing black or dark colors. She looked downright ostentatious in her yellow dress. She glanced over at her mom and noticed that she was also wearing black.

_It was nice of her to warn me,_ Daria thought, but she was afraid that her wardrobe choice was going to be the least of her worries.

Daria didn't bother to stick around so Lucius and Narcissa could greet her. Instead, she hurried off into the crowd to try to find Draco, despite her mom's calls of protest. She needed to find out why she was here, surrounded by what she could only assume were death eaters.

She weaved through the groups of guests, but didn't recognize any of them. A lot of them had their hoods up at well, which made it even more difficult.

"Daria?"

Daria quickly looked up and spotted Blaise a few feet away. "What are you doing here?" he asked.

The sight of him shocked Daria so much that she wasn't able to speak for a moment. He's usually dark skin was pale and clammy. He looked almost like a ghost in his dark robes. She had never seen him look so scared.

"Well, lookie here! I didn't know Gryffindors were invited to this party," Theodore Nott smirked as he came up beside Blaise and put a hand on his friend's shoulder. "We could use some entertainment."

Daria shot him a glare and chose to ignore his statement as she turned back to Blaise. "I don't know, that's what I'm trying to figure out. What's going on?"

If possible, Blaise turned even paler and Daria could see a glaze of sweat on his forehead. "You shouldn't be here, Daria. You need to get out of here."

"Where's Draco?" she pressed, again glancing around the room in search of him.

Blaise shook his head and shrugged, indicating that he didn't know.

"He went up to his room a little while again," Theo answered, "Why? Do you only do private shows?"

"Yes, because I'm obviously an exotic dancer. You're so clever, Nott," she rolled her eyes, before turning to walk away from the boys.

"Hey wait! I'll show you where it is," Theo suggested but Daria just waved her hand to dismiss him before she hurried toward the main stairs.

The two boys watched her as she walked away before Theo turned to Blaise, who was looking even more nervous. "Don't worry, man," Theo reassured, giving him a pat on the back, "It doesn't hurt that bad. Just feels like someone is trying to burn your arm off."

Blaise turned green and moved to leave.

"Hey!" Theo called, hurrying behind him, "What did that chick want with Malfoy? I thought she was your girlfriend."

Blaise shot him a glare and punched in the arm, making Theo roar with laughter.

* * *

Daria hurried down the halls of Malfoy Manor trying to remember where Draco's room was. She had only been to it once and had been a little distracted during the trip because he had kept stopping to snog.

She finally found the black door with the silver initials 'D.L.M.' written on it and barged inside. She wished she had knocked.

The good news was that she finally found Draco. There he was, lying on his bed, with a topless French girl straddling him.

"Bloody hell, McVey!" he gasped angrily but she could see fear filling his eyes, "What are you doing here?"

"That's what I came to ask you," she snapped, picking up the girl's shirt from the floor and tossing it at her. "Tell you're whore to come back later. We need to talk."

Draco looked up at the girl and said something in French, causing her to glare at him.

The girl shot her glare to Daria and hissed something in French before she pulled her shirt back on unnecessarily slowly. Daria rolled her eyes, "Yeah I know I'm such a cock block. Don't worry, you'll get over him."

The girl shot her a confused glare, probably due to the language barrier, and climbed off Draco. Daria gave her a fake smile as she passed, "Nice meeting you!"

Once the girl was gone and the door was closed Daria turned to glare at Draco. "What the hell is going on around here?"

"You're not supposed to be here," Draco sighed, running his hand through his hair. "Why the hell would your mom bring you to this?"

"I was invited," she snapped, "I had assumed it was by you."

Draco's eyes widened and he shook his head. "No. I would never invite you here. You need to leave."

"Oh, but I'm having so much fun," Daria scoffed.

"I'm serious, Daria," he growled. "_He_ is going to be here. Blaise and I are getting our Dark Marks tonight."

All the color drained from Daria's face. "No! Draco you can't!"

"I don't have a choice," he hissed. "The Dark Lord used Legilimency on me last month and saw you. If I don't do what he wants, he'll tell my father and then he'll kill you. I'd assume that's why you are here. In case I try to resist."

Daria felt herself begin to hyperventilate. Did her mom know about this? Is that why she'd made her come? How could she though, if Voldemort hadn't told Lucius about his son's love affair with a girl that had dirty blood?

"Wait a minute," Daria started as a look of horror overtook her face, "Why is my mom here? If this is a death eater party then why..."

She trailed off at the grim look on Draco's face.

"No," she whispered. "No! My mom is not a death eater!"

"What ever you say," he sighed, "But regardless, you need to get out of here. There's a secure fireplace in my father's office. You can use it. Do you have some place you can go?"

Daria thought for a moment before she nodded. "I'll go to the Burrow. The Weasleys probably wouldn't even notice I was there, just another red head at their dinner table. But I should warn them that I'm coming. Can I use your owl?"

He nodded a led her over to his caged eagle owl.

"Good Godric, that thing's huge!" Daria stated in awe. "It looked smaller when it was on my bed. I think it must have doubled in size."

Draco smirked, "Yeah, I get that a lot. You know what they say about wizards with big owls?"

"That they are compensating for something?" Daria suggested, stealing his smirk.

He frowned and handed her some parchment and a quill. "Just write your bloody letter so you can leave."

She grabbed the supplies and quickly scratched down a few words.

_'Ron, __I need to stay with you until school starts. Hope you don't mind. I'll explain when I get there.'_

She paused. What if this got intercepted? She was fleeing a party of death eaters after all. She thought about signing it with her initials but didn't think Ron would take too kindly getting a letter delivered to him by an eagle owl from D.M. She quickly regrouped and decided on another signature instead; one he'd easily understand.

_'Your future wife.'_

She looked it over and went to fold it up but got another idea.

She looked up into Draco's worrisome eyes before she spoke. "Come with me."

He pursed his lips before shaking his head. "I can't. If I flee he'll torture my family for my cowardice."

"Fighting for the right side isn't cowardly, Draco. It's brave," she scolded.

He scoffed, "Yeah? Well tell that to the Dark Lord when he crucio's my mother."

She frowned before she handed him the parchment. He tied to his owl's legs before opening the window for it.

"Follow me. I'll take you to father's study," he stated and strode out of his bedroom. Daria quickly followed behind him.

He led her through a series of corridors and Daria was amazed that he was able to navigate his way through all the halls and staircases without getting lost. But eventually they arrived at a pair of thick double doors. Draco pushed them open and they entered a room lined with rows of bookshelves. A large oak desk sat in the middle and behind it stood a large ornate fireplace.

Draco motioned her forward and she stepped inside. He grabbed a jar of floo powder and held it out for her. She looked down at it and paused.

"I have to go home first," she thought out loud.

He raised an eyebrow but then looked angry. "No! You have to go straight to the Weasley's house. You're home isn't safe if your mom is a death eater."

"But Kiki, my truck, my broom, and my ipods are all still in my room," she argued. "I could floo to my house then take my broom to the burrow. It's not that far."

"Screw the cat and your stuff!" he snapped, "That's completely stupid and reckless. You could be intercepted by death eaters."

"I'll be fine," she retorted, grabbing a handful of floo powder before he thought to take it away.

"I wish you'd change your mind," she sighed. "Goodbye, Draco."

Then she threw down the floo powder and was gone.

Draco stared at the fireplace for several long minutes, willing her to come back. Flying to Devon in the middle of the night without a cloaking device was very dangerous, perhaps, almost as dangerous as being at a party full of death eaters.

He finally turned around and headed back to his room where he found his mother sitting on his bed, waiting for him.

"He's here, Draco," she stated grimly, "Its time."

Draco nodded solemnly before something important crossed him mind. "Mom," he started, "Why was Daria here?"

Narcissa thought for a moment. "You mean the McVey girl? I invited her because I thought you could use some support. You've seemed rather worried lately and I realized that I might have been too quick to judge. If she's important to you, Draco, I don't want you too stop seeing her because of me."

Draco frowned, "We've been broken up for half a year now and she didn't know her mother was a death eater."

Narcissa's face fell. "I'm sorry, Draco. She seemed like a nice girl."

"She is a nice girl... That's why it'd never work," he sighed. "Come on, we don't want to keep him waiting."

* * *

Daria arrived back at her house and flew up the stairs to her bedroom. She opened the door and dove under her bed, pulling out her trunk, her wand, and her shoebox full of ipods. Then she went to her closet and pulled out her broom and a black robe that she draped over her shoulders for cover. She tucked her wand into her pocket and packed the shoebox away into her trunk.

She stared down at the gaudy trunk and glanced up at the clock. It was past midnight and she was now of age to do magic. She used a shrinking charm on her trunk, stuffed the now tiny box into her pocket, and hurried back down the stairs.

When she arrived at the front door, she called to Kiki, who trotted over after leaving her spot on the couch. Daria opened the door and mounted her broom. Kiki hopped onto the back of it and Daria kicked off into the darkness.

She flew above the countryside, under the stars, and chuckled to herself as she thought about the muggle depictions she'd seen of witches. A woman in black on a broom with a cat on the back; if only they could see her. All she was missing were warts and hat.

Luckily, she didn't live far from the Weasley's and within 20 minutes she could spot their tall, slender house on the horizon.

She touched down in the field next to the house and walked toward it, Kiki weaving between her legs.

Ron greeted her at the edge of the protective enchantments and pulled her into a tight embrace. "Tell me everything."

She nodded as he led her inside.

**A/N: So I know most of you are probably wishing that Daria hexed the French girl, but I hope you still enjoyed the chapter. Yesterday this story got the most views it's ever had at 544 views! Woot! You know what that means? That's right! There should be wayyyyy more reviews. Thanks to everyone who has been reviewing though, they really make my day. But I'd really like to get more than 2-3 a chapter especially with the story getting an average of 200-300 views a day. So if you like it, please review because as I've said before, the more reviews I get the faster I write.**

*Pictures of the dress can be found on my profile page.


	42. The one at the burrow

Daria was forced to bunk with Ginny and Hermione while Ron and Harry stayed up in Ron's room. She wasn't quite sure what her other two friends were doing there but she suspected that for some reason they were now living at the burrow as well.

She had refused to tell them anything about that night. All she told them was that she found out her mom is a death eater. She couldn't let them know that Draco and Blaise were now death eaters. It hadn't been their choice. She knew that and understood it, but her friends wouldn't.

She didn't know how Draco had been able to get through the summer, knowing what was about to happen, and not look like Blaise had.

_Probably from all the dopamine, _she thought in annoyance. If she went around sleeping with everyone she met, she probably wouldn't have needed alcohol.

"Daria? Are you still awake?" Hermione whispered.

Daria thought about pretending she was asleep, but sighed and turned toward Hermione's cot. "Yeah."

"Malfoy's a death eater now, isn't he?" she asked, giving her friend a sad look.

Daria's wasn't sure if Hermione's intuition and observance was a good thing or a bad thing. She lifted her head to make sure Ginny's eyes were closed before she responded. "I don't want to talk about it," she whispered before rolling over to go back to her depressing thoughts.

"He's not really evil, is he?" she pried, but it was more of a statement than a question.

"No," Daria sighed, "He was just born into the wrong world."

Daria heard Hermione roll over and assumed the conversation was over so she grabbed her ipod and put her ear buds in. Music was going to have to be her new drug of choice since fire whiskey wouldn't be readily available at Hogwarts.

She scrolled through her playlist and decided on 'Someday' by Nickelback. Right before she hit play she hear Hermione's voice. It was so quiet that Daria barely caught the words "I'm sorry" before her music started playing.

"Me too," Daria breathed; then she closed her eyes and let the music flow through her veins as she drifted off to sleep.

* * *

The next morning Daria sat at the Weasley's very crowded breakfast table, trying to make small talk with her friends that didn't include Draco, her mother, or any other death eaters, in front of the other Weasley family members.

She was digging into a massive pile of scrabbled eggs when she was startled by a loud crash. She looked around and saw that no one else had been bothered by the sound and then spotted Ron's owl Errol falling into the house from a nearby window.

"The bloody pigeon is a menace," Ron grumbled as Daria hopped up to retrieve their Hogwarts letters from its mouth.

She passed them out to her friends and Ginny before tearing her own open. She immediately noticed an extra piece of parchment in between her supplies list and schedule, and decided to read it first.

_We are pleased to inform you that you have been selected as a prefect for the Gryffindor house. This year you will be rooming in a separate dormitory for you and your fellow 7th year prefects, as well as the head boy and girl. Instructions on getting to your new dormitory will be given to you on the train. Please be sure to sit at the back of the train in the prefects' compartment. We look forward to your arrival._

_Minerva McGonagall_

_Deputy Headmistress_

Daria reread the letter with furrowed eyebrows. Whose bright idea had it been it to make her a prefect? That just seemed utterly disastrous. Didn't they know how reckless and irresponsible she was?

Daria glanced around the room to see that all her friends had similar letters.

"Raise your hand if you're a prefect," she announced.

They all exchanged looks before Ron answered, "I am."

Daria and Ron both turned to Hermione and Harry expectantly.

"I'm Head Girl," Hermione gasped, still staring at her letter.

They gaped at her for a moment before Harry spoke up too. "Why would Dumbledore make me Head Boy? I wasn't even a prefect last year."

The three friends now turned their stares to Harry.

"Bloody hell. _You're_ Head Boy?" Ron asked in astonishment.

"Well of course he is," Hermione replied, trying to make it so Ron's comment didn't seem so condescending. "Who else would he pick for Head Boy?"

Ron shrugged, "I don't know. Ernie Macmillan? Malfoy? ... Neville?"

"Thanks, Ron," Harry replied, sarcastically.

"Anytime," Ron nodded, "But honestly... Didn't Dumbledore say you were too busy last year to be a prefect? Why in the world would he make you Head Boy now? Is your life suddenly less complicated?"

Harry shrugged.

"He probably wants Harry to be in a position of power," Hermione interjected. "Our classmates need someone to look up to in these dark times. Who better than Harry Potter?"

Ron and Daria both nodded in agreement and Harry turned slightly green.

"Why is it always me? Why can't I just be the wallflower?" Harry sighed.

"Get a bowl cut and get some new glasses," Daria suggested with a smirk, "Maybe then no one would recognize you."

Harry rolled his eyes before going back to his eggs.

"_You will be rooming in a separate dormitory for you and your fellow 7th year prefects, as well as the head boy and girl_," Ron read aloud, "What's that supposed to mean?"

Daria's face fell as she remembered that part of the letter. "It means we won't be in the Gryffindor dorms this year," she mumbled, "We'll be bunking with the Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and... Slytherin prefects."

Ron's face fell as well. "I'd better start practicing my defensive spells. Honestly, what is Dumbledore thinking?"

* * *

"Hurry up, Daria! We need to get going!" Hermione called from the other side of the bathroom door.

"I'll be out in a minute!" Daria called back, slightly irritated. She'd waited all morning to get into the one bathroom for the five teenagers and now that her friends were ready they we're trying to get her to hurry up?

_Ha! Fat chance!_ she mentally scoffed.

Daria dug through her toiletry bag looking for her favorite curl-taming potion and growled impatiently when she couldn't find it.

_It better not be at my mother's house. That potion took me three months to brew,_ she huffed.

She grabbed at her handbag and turned it upside down, dumping its contents all over the sink's counter. She sifted through the pile of what was 90% rubbish and something sparkly caught her eyes. The necklace.

She had taken it off last night before she went to the ball and forgotten it was in her purse. She scooped it up and was amazed the chain hadn't gotten tangled up in the bottom of her bag of garbage. She noted that it probably had an anti-knotting charm on it.

She turned the emerald over in her hand, examining it for the umpteenth time since she had receiving it, like she was expecting it to magically change as Draco did. But it never faltered. The heart was still as clear and sparkly as the day she'd received it. It hadn't been clouded by darkness or despair.

If it hadn't been for Draco, she wouldn't have been able to leave the dark mark ceremony and who knows what events could have unfolded after Voldemort had arrived. He had, in a way, saved her, yet again.

She unclasped the necklace and clasped it back around her neck. She would keep wearing it. If anything, to remind her that there was some good in everyone, no matter how deeply they buried it.

"Daria! Come on! It's already mid-day!" Ron called, pounding on the door.

"I'm coming!" Daria sighed before she grabbed the potion from her pile of rubbish and sprayed some on her damp hair.

She shoved the pile of junk back into her purse, not bothering to sort through it first and hurried out the door.

* * *

"So, where are we going first?" Harry asked as the four friends wandered aimlessly around Diagon Alley after managing to escape Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. Ginny was also with them but her and Hermione were busy chatting together at the back of the group.

"I could use a trip to Madam Malkin's," Daria stated. "Not all my clothes were able to make the trip with me. I don't know what I'll do without my extensive collection of dress robes," she sighed sarcastically.

"Looks like you won't be attending any royal balls. Did you at least manage to pack your glass slippers and pumpkin?" Harry joked.

Daria gasped dramatically, "Oh my! I completely forgot them! Maybe I can pick up a new pair at Twillfit and Tatting's. Then I'll just have to steal a new pumpkin from Hagrid's patch."

Hermione rolled her eyes at the pair while Ron and Ginny looked utterly confused.

"Muggle fairy tale," Daria explained, "You wouldn't get it."

"Oh, you mean like Babbity Rabbity?" Ron asked, hopefully.

"No," Daria replied pointedly, before turning away to continue down the street. But as she turned she smacked right into someone.

"Sorry about that," Daria apologized before she realized who it was. "Mrs. Malfoy?"

"Oh, hello Daria," she smiled, "How lovely it is to see you. I'm afraid I didn't even get to say hello at the ball."

_Since when does she remember my name?_ Daria pondered, raising an eyebrow at Narcissa.

"Ball?" Ron asked stupidly, looking back and forth between Narcissa and Daria.

"I was at the Malfoy's ball last night," Daria explained simply, before turning back to Narcissa with a hard look. "I had to leave rather unexpectedly, I'm afraid. Some complications arose."

"Ah yes," Narcissa nodded stiffly, realizing that the pleasantries were over, before glancing over at Daria's friends.

"I'm afraid Draco tends to keep me out of the loop when it comes to his personal life. If I had known the two of you had broken up, I wouldn't have made sure you had an invite. I'd just assumed Draco would want you there. Sorry for the misunderstanding," she stated curtly. "I really must be on my way now though. Good seeing you Miss McVey."

The clicking of her heels slowly faded out as she walked away and Daria stood there, frozen among her friends.

"What did she just say?" Harry spoke in disbelief.

"That Daria dated Malfoy," Ginny hissed, glaring at the other red headed girl.

"You were at a ball last night?" Ron snapped, "At the Malfoy's? A death eaters ball?"

"Does that mean Malfoy is a death eater now too?" Harry exclaimed.

"Leave her alone, guys," Hermione insisted, but Daria was already storming away.

**A/N: Sorry it took me longer than usual to update. I had a little bit of writers block trying to figure out what was going to happen at Diagon Alley. But then this morning the idea came to me so I went with it. I may add a conversation in the next part with Daria's friends about Draco, or I might save it for later but I wanted to go ahead and end this part so I could get it posted. Leave me some reviews if you can't wait to find out what happens next. =)**


	43. The one with Draco's magic wand

**A/N: As I'm sure you noticed by now, Daria listens to a lot of music and I always tell you which song she is listening to. That is because I spend endless hours on youtube researching songs that go well with this story. So the songs that she plays always have something to do with what is going on in the story at the time. This is me recommending that you listen to the song, preferably while reading the story. You should try it sometime =)**

"It was just a fling!" Daria explained angrily for the twentieth time that evening.

Her and her friends were all sitting at a table outside the ice cream parlor where they had found her.

"But how long? Like a day? Or like the whole school year?" Harry pressed.

"We'll it obviously wasn't the whole school year. I dated you for part of it remember?" Daria rolled her eyes and took in Harry's outraged expression before trying a different tactic. "Remember when you thought I was dating Blaise? Well that's about how long it lasted."

"About?" Harry snapped. "That's awfully vague."

"Can we just not talk about this anymore," Daria growled as she stirred her milkshake with her straw. "It was a mistake. We were too different. We wanted different things and so we ended it. End of story."

"Yeah. Like you wanted a normal life and he wanted a dark mark," Ron shot. "Which brings us to the next topic... Why didn't you tell us that he was a death eater?!"

"Because I don't know that he is one," Daria retorted in irritation. The statement was true. After all, she hasn't actually seen him get it. For all she knew he might have changed his mind. Not likely, but her friends didn't need to know that.

"Then what was he doing at a freakin death eater party?!" Ron exclaimed angrily.

"Enjoying the delightful company?" Daria shrugged earning her a glare from the four pairs of eyes surrounding her. "How should I know?! In case you haven't noticed his father is a death eater. Did you forget that I was there too and haven't been branded?"

Her answer seemed to satisfy them because one by one they all stopped glaring at her and went back to their ice creams as they moved into uncomfortable silence.

Ginny decided to be daring and try to break it. "So... Is his dick really longer than his wand?"

"Ginny!" everyone at the table shouted. Daria turned a dark shade of crimson.

"What?" Ginny chuckled, "I just wanted to know if the rumors were true. And by the look of Daria's cheeks, I'd say I just got my answer."

"Shut up, Ginny!" Daria, Harry, and Ron all snapped.

"Isn't his wand nine inches?" Hermione asked with furrowed eyebrows and an unreadable expression.

"Ten," Daria corrected and immediately smacked herself on the forehead when she spotted Ginny's smirk, "His wand! His wand is ten inches. You pervert."

"You would know," Ginny smiled.

"Can we please change the subject?" Ron shuttered, "This conversation is making me very uncomfortable."

* * *

Daria was sure to get up early the morning of the train ride back to Hogwarts so she didn't have to wait on the bathroom.

After she had gotten ready she grabbed some toast and tried to waste some time in the kitchen, but soon grew tired of waiting on her friends. So she decided to go ahead and apparate to King's Cross to do some loitering for the remaining half an hour before the train left. She was a prefect now, after all.

When she arrived at King's Cross she immediately noticed how out of place she looked amongst the muggles, especially with Kiki weaving between her legs. It made her feel self-conscious. So in an attempt to blend in better she stuck a piece of bubble gum in her mouth and tucked one if her ear buds into her ear as it began playing 'Wide Awake' by Katy Perry.

She slowly swaggered toward platform 9 3/4. Occasionally she spotted some muggle guys checking her out, whether because they thought she was attractive or weird she wasn't sure, and was sure to give them all a playful wink nonetheless.

Once she got to the platform and boarded the train, she strutted to the back, mindlessly popping her gum as she walked.

She slid open the door to the large prefect compartment and felt her heart drop when she saw Draco was the only occupant so far. She tried not to let it show.

He glanced up at her from his book and raised an eyebrow. She felt her breath catch as she studied his familiar mannerisms. They were so much different than the angry and fearful looks he had worn a few weeks ago.

"Doth my eyes deceive me?" he questioned, looking her over. "Are you actually early for something?"

Daria raised her eyebrows in shock and glanced at her watch. "Oh shit, I am!" she turned on her heel and acted like she was going to leave the compartment, "I'll be back in like an hour after they discuss all the boring stuff... Like the rules."

He chuckled lightly before turning back to his book. Daria turned around again to face the inside of the compartment and took a seat across from him. Kiki trotted in after her and, to both their surprises, jumped right onto Draco's lap.

"Damnit McVey," he grumbled, while trying to push her away, "Get your flea ridden cat off me."

"I've often wondered if you think my name is 'Damnit'," Daria hummed, ignoring his demand. "You seemed awfully fond of it in fifth year."

He shot her a glare after he'd managed to pry Kiki off. "Why in the world would they make you a prefect? Are there any rules you actually follow?" he looked her over again, taking in her combat boots, ipod, and gum as she popped it between her teeth.

She scoffed, "Well what about you?"

"I was a prefect last year," he stated proudly, "Didn't you ever noticed the shiny 'P' on my robes?"

"Well some prefect you made," she rolled her eyes, "I'm surprised they let you have the job again. You broke just as many rules as I did last year. And how in the world were you able to do your nightly patrol if you were never in the dungeons?"

He shrugged, "I keep Pansy around for more than one reason. She's like a miniature lackey."

Daria rolled her eyes, "Typical."

He went to glare at her but an idea must have hit him because he quickly turned it into a smirk. "At the time, I didn't hear you complaining."

"Well then maybe this year you'll actually do your job," she snapped. "By the way, your lovely mother happened to mention that you and I dated in front of my friends. So don't be surprised if Harry tries to deck you in the near future."

He rolled his eyes and wordlessly went back to his book. She sighed, agitatedly before putting her other ear bud in that was now playing 'Tragedy' by Christina Perri.

He was much better at this enemies business than she was, but if he wanted to be a prick, she could easily follow his lead. Soon Harry, Hermione, and Ron joined them, as well as the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff prefects, and they prepared for a long, awkward train ride.

* * *

After the feast that evening, Daria headed straight to Dumbledore's office. She had some questions about her family that apparently she didn't know the answers to and hoped that he would.

When she reached the top of the gargoyle staircase she raised her fist to knock on the door but before her hand reached it, she heard the old wizard's voice call from within. "Come in, Daria."

Daria cautiously opened the door and made her way inside.

"Good evening," he greeted with a welcoming smile. "Please, take a seat," he continued, motioning to one of the seats in front of his desk, "Would you care for a peppermint?"

Daria took a seat before shaking her head, "No thank you."

He grabbed one for himself out the dish on his desk while watching her expectantly.

"Sir," Daria started nervously, "I found out some disturbing information about my mother this summer."

Dumbledore nodded knowingly. "Ah, I was wondering when you would discover your mother's secret. I had been planning on discussing it with you this year actually, had you not found out about it on your own."

"So it's true then?" she sighed, "My mother is a death eater."

"I'm afraid so," he frowned, "I'm sorry, Daria, but that's not your mother's only dark secret."

Daria's eyes shot up to him and she furrowed her eyebrows. She wasn't sure how much more of this craziness she could handle.

He took a long breath before he continued. "When your mother and your father got married, Fauna was already one of Voldemort's followers. She was able to hide her marriage for a while but eventually Voldemort found out and ordered her to kill your muggle father and you as penance for her blood treachery. The same night that Harry's parents were killed is the night Fauna murdered your father. But before she could get to you, she received news that Voldemort had fallen so she felt she was in the clear to leave you alive."

Daria tried to keep her emotions in check, but her shaky voice betrayed her as she spoke. "So why am I still alive? Wouldn't Voldemort have ordered her to kill me after he returned?"

"I'm told that he heard there is a prophecy about you and Draco," Dumbledore stated, sounding very optimistic, "But he didn't take time to investigate it since he already knew that Draco would be his successor. He assumed that you must be important to Draco's role as a dark wizard so he decided to spare you."

Daria chews on her tongue as she tried to digest all this new information. Then a question that had been on her mind all summer surfaced to the forefront of her thoughts. "Sir, I'm sure you're aware by now that Draco has received his dark mark. And you, of course, know what the future holds for him. So why do you sit back and let him attend Hogwarts. Why don't you try to stop him?"

Daria in no way wanted Draco expelled, or worse, killed. But the question had been bothering her for a while now and she felt the need to ask it.

"I believe, that in the end, Draco will make the right choice," Dumbledore gave her a knowing smile. "Now it's getting late and I'm sure you have prefect duties to attend to, so I won't keep you any longer."

"Thank you for taking the time to see me sir," Daria gave him a half smile as she stood up to head toward the door, "Goodnight."

Daria left Dumbledore's office and made her way down the corridors, toward the third floor that she was supposed to be patrolling. On her way she passed her favorite blond git.

"Shouldn't you be in the dungeons?" she eyed him suspiciously.

He raised his eyebrow and smirked at her. "I was just on my way back from arguing with Potter. He seems to be awfully jealous that I shagged you before he did. He may need help fixing his nose."

Daria glowered at him, "You're a asshole."

"Like I haven't heard that before," he laughed as he strutted away.

**A/N 2: So, did you like the chapter? I know, Draco is an ass again. More so than he's really been for the entire story actually (although he hasn't pushed her into any gravel so that's always a plus). Let me know what you think. The next part should be up soon... I hope.**


	44. The one with the Patil twins

Draco quickly trudged through the prefect common room on his way to his bedroom. He sneered at the two Hufflepuff prefects that watched him as he went. He had a feeling he'd be spending very little time in the common room this year. At least they all had their own private bedrooms. But could private bathrooms be too much to ask? The giant co-ed bathroom seemed wildly inappropriate, and coming from Draco, that was really saying something.

Draco made it to the third door on the right of the dorm hallway. It had a sign plastered to it reading "Draco Malfoy, Slytherin Prefect." He grinned a little every time he saw it. Power was very satisfying.

He looked around the hallway and grumbled in annoyance at the sight of the two doors at the end of the hall. One read "Hermione Granger, Head Girl" and the other read "Harry Potter, Head Boy." He continued to glance around at the doors until his eyes landed on the door directly across the hall from his "Daria McVey, Gryffindor Prefect."

He sighed sadly and forced himself to shoot a glare at the door before he opened his and nearly jumped out of his skin. Perched happily in the middle of his bed, sat Daria's kneazle.

"How the hell did you get in here?" he growled at the cat as he entered his room.

_Like it's really going to answer me._

Draco rolled his eyes at his lack of sense. Talking to animals was something that someone like Daria would do. Draco Malfoy did not talk to animals. That was just silly.

"Go on! Get out of here!" he demanded, pointing at the open doorway. The cat just cocked its head to one side and watched him intently.

_There's something about this stupid cat that's very eerie. I don't like it._ Draco turned his nose up at the creature before shutting his door and making his way over to his closet to change into some more casually clothing.

"Just don't get too comfortable," Draco grumbled to the cat, "Once I find a big enough box, I'm stuffing you in it and delivering it to Daria's door... Damnit! Stop staring at me!"

_It's the eyes, definitely eyes. They're creepy,_ Draco thought as he examined the annoying kneazle on his bed. _What does Daria see in this stupid cat?_

Draco decided he had had enough of the nutter cat and was going to go to the Slytherin common room to see Blaise and Theo. At least they didn't have big blue eyes to stare at him with.

* * *

Draco plopped down on one of the plushie black Slytherin couches next Blaise and propped his feet up on one of the coffee tables. Theo was sitting in a wing-backed chair across from them.

"You know, for a pure blood, you have very poor manors," Theo stated, as he wrinkled his nose at Draco's feet.

Draco sneered and intentionally slouched a little bit in his seat. "You sound like my bloody mother."

"Shouldn't you be off in your fancy prefect common room? I've heard you guys have a snack bar and everything," Theo raised an eyebrow.

Draco groaned loudly. "It's miserable over there. The only company I have is Parkinson and she makes me want to start tearing my hair out."

"Aww," Theo mocked, "Is the cute red head not making house calls anymore?"

Draco raised an eyebrow, "Haven't you heard? Her and Pothead are the new 'it' couple."

"I bet that must be an easy relationship. With them basically living together and all," Theo smirked, "They keep you awake at night?"

Draco rolled his eyes and contemplated kissing Blaise when he jumped in and changed the subject. "So I've decided that this year I'm going to get at least an E in potions. I've been practicing all summer."

"Oh how exciting," Theo replied sardonically. "Know what my goal is this year?"

"To not get straight Ps in your classes?" Draco scoffed, earning a glare from Theo.

"The Patil twin," he grinned evilly. "At the same time."

Draco rolled his eyes, "Been there, done that."

"Yeah right!" Blaise argued, "You're full of it."

Draco smirked, "What ever helps you sleep at night, Zabini. But I know how to tell them apart."

Theo shook his head, "You're totally bluffing."

Draco just shrugged and continued smirking. So he might have been exaggerating a little bit, but Theo never specified that he was talking about sex.

"So what about you, Draco?" Blaise raised an eyebrow, "You sticking with Pansy again this year?"

"Why do you keep that wench around anyways? There are way hotter girls in this school," Theo added.

Draco shrugged, "I like consistency and Pansy is very consistent with wanting in my pants. I'm thinking of branching out this year though. I already asked Daphne Greengrass to come on the next Hogsmeade trip with me."

"What'd she say?" Blaise asked.

"What do you think she said?" Draco sneered and rolled his eyes, "Yes, of course."

"Could you be anymore full of yourself?" Blaise sighed in annoyance.

"Actually I think I could," Draco grinned, "That can be my goal this year."

Theo burst out laughing and Blaise just shook his head in disbelief.

* * *

Draco strolled through the corridors after his evening with his friends, back toward the prefect dorms.

When he turned a corner on the third floor he spotted Daria up ahead, patrolling the hall. He trained his eyes on her as he walked towards her. He fought to keep his face hard so it wouldn't betray any emotions when he got to her.

She must have heard his approaching footsteps because she quickly spun around to face him, a little too quickly. Her shoe caught against the ground and she started plummeting toward him. He instinctively threw his arms out and caught her around the waist once she was within reach, stopping her from slamming into the floor.

She looked up at him in shock and their eyes locked for a split second before Draco turned away with a sneer. "You are so clumsy that I sometimes wonder how you make it through a day without breaking something."

She scoffed and rolled her eyes as he helped her stand back up. "You could have just let me fall, you know. Don't feel compelled to catch me. I can handle myself against the floor."

He raised an eyebrow and tried to keep his expression stoic. "I made you a promise."

Her eyes flashed with confusion for they narrowed in a glare. "Well I hate to break it to you, but you're dropping the ball. I fell flat on my face just yesterday."

He snorted before he replied with a smirk, "Thus proving my previous statement. It's not my fault. There are simply not enough hours in the day for me to consistently stop you from falling on your ass. I may be a suspicious bloke, but I keep my word."

She shot him an annoyed look. "I find that hard to believe."

"Have I ever lied to you?" he asked simply.

She furrowed her eyebrows and looked deep in thought for a very long time before responding. "I can't think of a particular instance right now, but I'm sure you have."

He sighed in agitation and narrowed his eyes. "Are you calling me a liar?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying," she flashed her eyebrows daringly.

"Well at least I'm not a halfblood," he shot, at a loss for a better comeback.

She smirked wildly, "Like I haven't heard that before." Then she turned on her heel and strutted away, leaving him to glare after her.

**A/N: So this chapter wasn't very long or eventful but I hoped you enjoyed some of the humor and following Draco around for the day. Next chapter I'll elaborate more on Daria and Harry. Leave me a review if you can't wait to read more.**


	45. The one with talk of summertime

**A/N: Just a quick note. This part takes place after Daria's last part (part 43). Draco's part was just a fun little bonus that would have taken place sometime after the introduction to this part.**

The next few weeks flew by quickly with classes and prefect duties to keep Daria busy. Her and Harry decided to pick up where they'd left off last year and he gave her his ring back to make it official. She was content. Their relationship was comfortable... familiar. Not passionate by any stretch, but passion and lust faded. They enjoyed each other's company and got along. They had the same views, the same beliefs, and the same convictions... for the most part. They were good for each other... that's what everyone told them anyway.

Daria sighed loudly as she entered Snape's classroom for a double potions class. She took a seat up front next to Hermione and lazily laid her head down on to table.

"I'm exhausted," she yawned, "This year has really been kicking my ass and I'm sooo not in the mood to put up with Snape for this long today."

Hermione shook her head and sighed, "You'll be fine. Try being Head Girl sometime."

"You just make it hard on yourself because you're nuts. At least you have prefect minions to do your dirty work," Daria retorted, stifling another yawn.

"For your information, I'm taking ten classes this semester and I barely have time to sleep and eat, even without patrolling the halls," she explained.

Daria just rolled her eyes and turned her head over on the table so she could try to get a few minutes of sleep before class started. She heard Ron and Harry enter. Ron took a seat next to Hermione and Harry took the seat beside Daria. The boys greeted her and Hermione but Daria just groaned in response and closed her eyes tighter.

"Miss McVey. This class hasn't even started yet and you are already sleeping? Not the best way to start the day," Snape drawled and he walked over to stand in front of Daria and Harry's table.

"At least I'm not late," Daria grumbled, not bothering to lift her head off the desk.

"It is truly a miracle," Snape sneered as he contemplated what punishment would be fitting for her lip. "I'd asked Mr. Potter here to pinch you every time you fall asleep today, but unfortunately you won't be in this seat long. Today I'll be assigning partners since you have thoroughly proven that Gryffindors can't be trusted with the freedom to select their own seats."

The entire class groaned and turned to glare at Daria, but she still didn't yield as she continued trying to rest.

"Everyone get up!" Snape snapped, intentionally much louder than usual as he stood over Daria's head, "And get your stuff."

Daria growled but grabbed her bag and stood up. She leaned up against the wall beside Harry and closed her eyes again as she listened to Snape read off names.

"Miss McVey, take your seat," Snape growled and Daria jumped slightly at the sound of his voice. She must have fallen asleep because all her classmates were already seated.

"Sorry, must have dozed off from the sound of your calming voice," Daria smarted off, "Where am I sitting?"

"With Mr. Malfoy," he drawled in annoyance, "Now sit down before I start deducting house points and handing out detentions."

Daria rolled her eyes and resisted the urge to argue due to the glares she was receiving from her housemates, before she slung her bag back over her shoulder and trudged to the back of the classroom toward the last open seat next to her familiar potions partner.

She sat down next to Draco with a loud sigh and glanced around the classroom to find her friends. It seemed Snape decided to stick with his idea from last year to pair students with partners that had similar grades in his class. Hermione was partnered with Theodore Nott, Ron was partnered with Crabbe, and Harry was partnered with Goyle. The later, was glaring intently at her and Malfoy with his piercing green eyes.

Daria rolled her eyes at him before turning away and pulling her potions book out of her bag.

"Today, you will be attempting to make Felix Felicis," Snape announced, "I have already completed the first few steps to save time, so you will only need to complete the rest. If by some act of Merlin, any of you are able to brew a successful draught, then you and your partner will both be awarded a vial. You have until the end of class."

Daria looked over at Draco who didn't appear to have any intention of moving from his seat so she went up and got the ingredients.

After she sat back down and they had begun working she decided to try to strike up a conversation, if anything to try to keep herself awake.

"So how was your summer?" she asked casually, glancing over at him while she spoke.

He looked annoyed and was silent for so long that she thought he was going to completely ignore her before he sighed, "Shitty. Your's?"

She shrugged, "It was decent. I spent most of it in the muggle world or at the Leaky Cauldron. Did you do anything exciting?"

He glared up at the ceiling for a long moment, like this conversation was physically draining. "I spent a few weeks in France."

Daria nodded in pretend interest. "Is that where you picked up your girlfriend?"

"She's not my girlfriend," he growled, "But yes, that's where I met her."

"Oh?" Daria asked, trying to sound uninterested. "Is that because you're dating Puginson again?"

Draco groaned in annoyance. "I'm not dating Parkinson either. I'm keeping my options open. You know, not everyone feels the need to always be in a monogamous relationship. Some people like to live spontaneously."

She hummed in thought but didn't reply.

"You said you spent your time in the muggle world and in bars. Surely you must of picked up a few of those disgusting muggles that you love so much while you were wondering around their world shit faced," he sneered.

Daria shot him a glare, "Disgusting? Have you seen some of the girls you've fooled around with? Namely the dog."

He rolled his eyes and focused his attention back to working on the potion. They worked in silence for a few minutes before he decided to make an attempt at conversation again, a very poor attempt.

"So, is he as good in the sack as me?" he smirked smugly.

Daria chuckle humorless and took a few seconds to try to comprehend what he had just said. "What?"

"Potter," Draco clarified, still smirking, "Is he as good in bed as I am?"

She gaped at him for a moment before quirking an eyebrow. "Are you kidding me?"

"So it's no comparison then?" he grinned arrogantly.

"You're a real piece of work, you know that?" she stated, still staring at him in awe. "And not that it's any of your damn business, but I couldn't tell you. Harry and I aren't that serious yet. Some of us don't hop into bed on the first date."

Draco furrowed his eyebrows; he hadn't been expecting that answer. Surely she'd been with a guy since him. How could anyone possibly go that long without sex? "But you've been dating him for about as long as we dated. Two months, right?"

Daria pursed her lips. She wasn't sure if she should be more shocked that he'd remembered how long they had dated or that he knew exactly how long her and Harry had been back together.

"Time's up!" Snape called and started making his way around the room.

Daria glanced at their cauldron and was amazed to see it filled with molten gold liquid with droplets leaping above its surface. Draco had successfully made the potion while maintaining a snarky discussion with her.

Snape raised an eyebrow as he examined their potion and shot a suspicious look between the two of them, "Well done Mr. Malfoy... and Miss McVey." Then he pulled two glass vials out of his robe pocket and dipped some of the potion out into each of them.

"I have a terrible feeling I'm going to regret this," he sighed and he handed them the vials. "Use it wisely."

* * *

"Why did Snape pair you with Malfoy?" Harry asked as he took a seat next to Daria in the prefect common room, wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

Daria looked up from her charms book and raised an eyebrow at him. "Don't take it personally. He paired us together last year too because we're both at the top of the class with our grades."

"But then why wouldn't he pair him with Hermione?" Harry furrowed his eyebrows.

Daria shot him a glare, "What are you trying to say, Harry? Hermione may do better than me in most of our classes but I can brew circles around her. Perhaps you'll remember that before you start insulting my intelligence again, because, unlike Pansy, I can make a decent boil potion."

Harry rolled his eyes, "I didn't mean anything by it. At least you got partnered with someone who can actually brew. Snape must think I'm a complete idiot to pair me with Goyle. How did he even get into a N.E.W.T level class?"

"Because he's a Slytherin," Daria shrugged, "Snape gives them all at least an A on all their assignments. You don't have to tell me how bad he is though. Last year when Snape had me paired with him he burned all the hair on the left side of my head off. It was terrible."

Harry looked a little scared and ran his hand through his hair, making Daria chuckle. "Don't worry. Hermione knows a hair-growing spell. But when she first did it, half my hair turned into an afro and we had to find a spell for that too."

"So what do you want to do this evening?" he smiled, trying to remove Slytherins from the conversation.

"Take a nap?" Daria yawned, resting her head on his shoulder, "But I have to patrol the fourth floor this evening."

"Why don't you go get some rest? Malfoy can take over your shift," Harry stated simply.

Daria raised her eyebrow at him and he shrugged in response to her unasked question. "Being Head Boy has its perks."

She grinned before leaning in to give him a sweet kiss on the lips. "Thanks Harry."

"McVey!" The peace was shattered by Malfoy's booming voice from down the hall, "Get your blasted cat out of my room!"

**A/N: Another pretty uneventful chapter. Be prepared for a few more of these kinds of chapter because it's really hard to do any plot twists without Draco but don't worry, we'll get there before you know it =P I'm not sure what the next few chapter will hold but stay tuned and review if you liked it.**

**Also, in response to Amazed: I don't pre-write I just have a whole lot of free time =P Since I already have the outline from the original story, the writing comes easily and I'm trying to complete the story as soon as possible because it's be gnawing at the back of my brain for 7 years since I first started writing the original story.**


	46. The one with the Astronomy Tower

Daria sat in the prefect common room with Kiki at her feet, rubbing against her legs. Daria was trying to use her to find out which of her roommates were trustworthy and which ones weren't. She had her ipod and speakers beside her, not even bothering to use headphone as it played 'Some Nights' by fun.. Almost everyone was coming and going without lingering in the common room since today was the first snowfall of the year and happened to be a Saturday.

Harry walked into the common room and headed toward the door but stopped in front of her and Kiki on his way there. Kiki purred and rubbed against his legs as he spoke. "I'm going to head out to the courtyard for awhile. Do you want to come with me?"

Daria shook her head, "No thanks. I'm having fun here. I'm going down to lunch before long though so I'll see you then."

Harry nodded before he exited the room.

The 7th year Ravenclaw prefect boy walked by a few minutes later. Daria couldn't remember his name but Kiki hissed at him as he passed them. She made a mental note that she should probably make a list of suspicious people when the door to the common room opened again and Hannah Abbott came in, followed by Pansy Parkinson.

Kiki mewed happily at Hannah then turned toward Pansy and started hissing and spitting, making Daria giggle.

"You're cats a menace, McVey. Keep it away from me," Pansy snapped while glaring at Kiki.

"Kneazle," Daria corrected pointedly.

"Whatever. And turn that crap you call music down," Pansy rolled her eyes before she fled to her bedroom.

Daria reached over and cranked her music up a little louder.

Next, Draco entered the common room after having been in his bedroom all morning, but instead of immediately leaving like everyone else had, he laid down on one of the nearby couches with a groan. Kiki immediately trotted over to him and hoped up into his chest, making him huff in annoyance but he didn't bother trying to shove her off this time.

"Tired?" Daria asked as she watched Kiki curl up in a ball on his chest and start purring.

"You're powers of observation are mind blowing," he grumbled sardonically before he absently started stroking Kiki's head.

Daria eyed the pair for a moment before she spoke. "I think my kneazle is in love with you."

Draco smirked, "She must have good tastes in men."

Daria chortled and rolled her eyes. The sound of her laughter caused his eyes to shoot toward her curiously. Did she just laugh at one of his jokes? He couldn't remember the last time she had laughed _with_ him.

Daria didn't notice his eyes on her as she gazed at Kiki. Why _did_ she like Draco so much? Shouldn't the dark mark that was now branded onto his forearm make him like holy water to a kneazle? She had been about ready to attack Lucius that day at the Leaky Cauldron, so why was she always cuddling up to Draco? If anything, he was going to be worse than Lucius. Lucius wasn't destined to be the next dark wizard.

Kiki didn't even act this fond of Harry, and Harry was the most trustworthy guy Daria knew. Daria thought about what else kneazles were good for. They could safely lead their owner home and make sure they didn't get lost. Daria shook her head before she got buried under the significance of that thought and stood up.

"I'm going to go to lunch. Come on, Kiki," Daria stated, making a kissing sound with her mouth to get Kiki's attention.

Kiki lazily opened one eye to look at her before she sleepily closed it again, not budging.

Daria sighed in annoyance at her useless cat and headed toward the common room door. _'Ron was right, I should have gotten an owl.'_

"Don't get lost!" Draco called with a chuckle before she closed the door.

Daria felt her heart drop as her mind flooded with the thoughts she'd been trying to reign in. _'Lost...'_ Daria repeated. Kiki didn't want Daria to get lost and she was trying to help her find her way.

* * *

"You're not Ron," Daria raised her eyebrow as Harry approached her for that evenings patrol.

"I sent him with Hermione tonight. Don't sound so happy," Harry grumbled.

Daria smiled, "Aw. You wanted to hang out with me."

"Maybe," he grinned, "But I think Ron wanted to see Hermione more. It was his idea."

"So where are we patrolling tonight?" she asked as he started leading them to their destination.

"The Astronomy Tower," he replied simply, making her stop dead in her tracks.

"I've never patrolled there before," Daria raised her eyebrow, "Are you just trying to get me alone?"

He chuckled, "Usually the Ravenclaws patrol it but I sent them to the second floor today."

"To get me alone," Daria added with a sly smile.

Harry scoffed but didn't respond as they started up the tower steps.

Once they got to the top they both searched the area for unauthorized students.

"No second years up here snogging this evening," Daria stated before she took a seat on the floor, next to the railing.

Harry sat down beside her. His eyes looked troubled as he stared ahead and Daria reached out for his hand. "What's wrong, Harry?"

He sighed and looked like he was debating something in his head for a moment before he spoke. "Dumbledore met with me today. There's something he wants me to do."

Daria furrowed her eyebrows, "Like what?"

"He wants me to help him find some stuff, things that belong to Voldemort that make him so powerful. They're called horcruxes," he stated, reluctantly, "He thinks that I should get my friends to help too."

Daria nodded as determination filled her eyes, "Of course we'll help you, Harry. Ron, Hermione, and I will always have your back."

Harry sighed and shook his head, "Dumbledore was very specific. He was insistent that you are not to help."

Daria felt confused for a moment before it turned to outrage. "What?!" she stood up angrily, "Why can't I help? I want to help defeat him as much as anyone."

Harry shrugged before he stood up as well. "He said he had something else for you to do. Something far more important... but he wouldn't tell me what."

"Well did he say he wanted to meet with me about it?" Daria asked hopefully. She could handle being put on a different mission for the greater good of the war, as long as she could do something to help.

Harry shook his head. "He said that you had to figure it out on your own. He said that in the end, you're task would be the most important one of all, and that you already know what it is."

Daria groaned and contemplated hitting the wall. Why could Dumbledore never be straightforward? Why did everything have to be a riddle? What if she couldn't figure out what she was supposed to do and ruined everything? Harry knew what he was supposed to do. He was supposed to go horcrux hunting. That's pretty straightforward, right?

(I highly recommend going to youtube now and finding a Christina Perri song to play in the background for this part. Particularly A Thousand Years (I know I'm ripping of twilight here, but its a great song), Distance, or Arms.)

"I know you'll figure it out," Harry smiled reassuringly, "You're a very bright witch."

He took a step forward and placed his hand on her cheek. She felt her cheek warm at his touch and frowned. This was too familiar. She looked around at the all too familiar room and closed her eyes, thinking back to all the memories this room held.

...

_Daria and Draco watched the future Draco waiting in the Astronomy tower._

"_What do you think I'm waiting on?" Draco asked and Daria shrugged._

_They watched the future scene unfold before exchanging a look of horror and being sucked back into the present._

_..._

"_I broke up with Harry," Daria blurted out nervously as Draco watched her._

"_Oh?" he smirked._

_Daria barely had time to nod before his lips were on hers for their very first kiss._

_..._

"_If you're asking if I want us to be exclusive, then I do," Draco shrugged, "But if you're trying to find out if I'll take you to Hogsmeade, I think it's a bad idea."_

"_Why do you think it's a bad idea?" Daria asked_

"_Do you really want to tell your friends that I'm your boyfriend?" he asked with a wisp of amusement._

"_Not right now," she frowned, "For now, it's probably best if we kept this between the two of us."_

_..._

_Daria laid her head on Draco's shoulder, "Which do you see me as? Someone from a respectable pureblood line or a half blood?"_

"_I see you as Daria," he smiled as he ran his fingers over her shoulder, "The rest doesn't matter."_

_..._

"_What is it, love?" Draco asked, following Daria's gaze to the other side of the Astronomy Tower where they had stood during their vision._

"_We've been here before," she smiled._

_He grinned and pulled her closer as he kissed her again. Then he pulled away and looked deep into her eyes, "I think we should tell people now."_

_..._

"_Do you think... that tonight," he started cautiously, "We could just be us?"_

_His eyes searched hers, trying to find an answer, before he moved to her side._

"_You know I'll have to say no," she whispered sadly, breaking eye contact._

_"Then don't say anything," he breathed, causing her eyes to shoot back to his. "Tomorrow we can be enemies, like we'll be the rest of our lives. But for tonight, let's forget about the war, the future, our families, and our friends. Tonight, let's just be together."_

_He didn't wait for her to respond before he pulled her to him and brushed his lips against hers. She didn't try to resist him; instead she just gave in to the butterflies in the pit of her stomach as they took over the rest of her body. She wished she were braver and that she could just ignore her feelings; that she could just give him up and never look back. Things would be so much easier if only she didn't love him._

...

Daria was snapped back into the present when she felt Harry's breath against her lips as he leaned in to kiss her. She quickly turned her head so his lips hit her cheek as she felt a painful twinge at her heart. This was _their_ spot and she didn't want to defile it by kissing Harry here. Her memories with Draco were sacred and secret, and not to be shared with Harry. Her and Harry should not be here, with Draco's voice echoing through the walls of their tower.

"We need to get back to patrolling," Daria stated, pulling away from a hurt looking Harry. "Where do we need to go next?"

He searched her eyes for a moment, trying to find out why she had pulled away before he sighed. "Seventh floor. Come on."

**A/N: This chapter was a lot longer than I originally planned to make it (the second scene was just kind of a whim that I followed), so I hope you enjoyed the memory montage. Leave me some reviews if you want more chapters.**


	47. The one with the strawberry eating bimbo

Daria woke up with a groan and pried her eyes open to look at her alarm clock. 6 am.

She lazily rubbed her eyes and looked around to try to figure out what had woken her up so early on a Saturday. Her eyes landed on the spot at the foot of her bed where Kiki slept. It was still warm but the kneazle was nowhere to be found.

Daria sighed in annoyance and tried to go back to sleep. After several minutes of tossing and turning she gave up on getting any more rest. She grabbed some clothes and a towel and headed toward the bathroom.

When she entered the giant co-ed bathroom her and her roommates shared, she could hear one of the showers going.

Daria sat her things down on one of the counters and started bushing her teeth. When she had finished rinsing her mouth out, she heard the shower shut off and watched in the mirror as Draco emerged in a towel.

She turned around to face him and raised an eyebrow when he quickly tucked his left arm behind his back. "That thing must really limit your fashion choices. But I bet if you wear enough bracelets it'd be hardly visible."

He sneered, "Piss off McVey."

"Aw. Is it too early for your witty comebacks?" she fake pouted as she watched him skirt along the side of the bathroom, towards the door, still concealing his arm. "I already know its there. You don't have to act like you're smuggling drugs."

"We'll your the only one in this school who does and I'm planning on keeping it that way," he grumbled as he reached his pile of clothes and pulled his button down shirt on to conceal the dark mark on his arm.

"Doesn't your mutt know? Or whichever bimbo you're taking to Hogsmeade today? Or do you just keep your shirt on during sex?" Daria questioned harshly.

He rolled his eyes, "I don't have time for an interrogation, McVey."

He grabbed the rest of his clothes and reached for the door handle before he remembered something and turned back around. "Oh, and keep your cat out of my room. That damn thing came trotting in at six in the bloody morning. I don't know how it does it, but I think it can open doors."

Daria shrugged, "If you don't want any intruders you should lock your door."

Draco sneered. "Oh, but I'm always hoping you'll decide to join me for a slumber party," he replied sarcastically, but his tone lacked its usual malice, making Daria wonder if he wasn't actually joking.

She rolled her eyes with a sigh before grabbing her towel and heading over to one of the showers. Once Draco had closed the door behind him, Daria used a locking spell on it before hoping into the shower. She didn't feel like having to deal with anymore of her roommates this morning.

After Daria had showered, gotten dressed, and fixed her hair and make up she finally unlocked the bathroom door and opened it. She found half of her roommates waiting impatiently outside and she quickly scurried past them to throw her pajamas into her room before heading down to the Great Hall.

She was the first of her friends to arrive for breakfast since it was only 8 am on a Saturday, so she took a seat at the emptiest part of the Gryffindor table. She piled a stack of pancakes onto her plate and glanced around the room aimlessly as she ate.

The first unusual sight she spotted was not one blond head at the Slytherin table, but two, side by side.

Draco sat, lazily eating some cereal, with the girl Blaise had danced with at over last year's Christimas break beside him. She displayed a very smug looking smile as she tried way to hard to make eating strawberries look sensual.

A few seats away Pansy looked like she was about to throttle Draco's counterpart. Daria chuckled to herself at the sight. Although she wasn't particularly thrilled that Draco had moved on to French girls and blond bimbos, anyone was better than Pansy. At least he was moving up in the world.

Daria jumped slightly when Harry fell into the seat across from her with a huge grin on his face.

"Morning," he chirped as he grabbed a scone and took a bite.

"Morning," Daria replied, raising an eyebrow. "Why are you so chipper? Are you that excited about the Hogsmeade trip?

Harry's face fell, "Oh no! That's today?"

"Uh, yeah," Daria snapped. "How could you forget?"

Harry sighed and ran his hand through his hair, "Dumbledore is taking me on our first search today."

"Oh," Daria frowned. "Well there goes my date. At least I'll have Ron and Hermione to keep me company."

Harry looked down at the table guiltily. "They're coming with me actually."

"Harry!" Daria complained, "I've been looking forward to this trip for weeks and in the course of a minute you've managed to ruin it. Now what am I supposed to do?"

"You could still go," Harry offered, hopefully, "Just tag along with some of your other friends."

Daria was about to argue that she didn't have any other friends but an idea popped into her head that brought a smile to her face. "I think I will. I'll see you later, Harry." Then she stood up and grabbed her bag.

"So are you still mad at me?" Harry called as she started to walk away.

"Oh most definitely," she smirked, "Have fun!"

* * *

"I'm so glad you wanted to come to Hogsmeade with me," Luna smiled dreamily as they walked along the cobblestone street. "Usually I come here alone, so it's nice to have some company."

"Well, my boyfriend bailed on me last minute," Daria shrugged.

"That must be nice," Luna hummed, "Having a new boyfriend."

"Speaking of that," Daria started, "How are you doing? We haven't really talked since last year after you and Blaise broke up. Did you two ever work it out? Or have you found someone else?"

Luna shook her head, "No, he never changed his mind, but that doesn't surprise me. What does surprise me is that Neville hasn't asked me out yet. He's had a crush on me all year."

"Neville, huh?" Daria smiled, "Do you liked him?"

"He's a nice guy. His brain is full of wrackspurts though, so I don't know if it'd work between us," Luna shrugged. "Oh, hello Blaise."

Daria looked up to see Blaise walking down the street toward them. He raised his eyebrow at Luna's greeting and looked over the two girls suspiciously before he nodded, "Lovegood. McVey."

Daria frowned slightly at Blaise calling the two of them by their surnames. For the entire time she'd known him, he'd always called her Daria. She was used to Draco calling her McVey since that's what he'd referred to her as for nearly six years... unless of course 'damnit' counted, but not Blaise.

"Zabini," Daria nodded back, shooting him a wary look.

"How are you today?" Luna smiled, not fazed by the tension.

"Fine," Blaise state pointedly.

"That's good," Luna continued, dreamily. "All six pairs of my gloves went missing, so my hands are rather cold," Luna stated, pulling her slightly blue hands out of her pockets to show him, "I knew I should have gotten that seventh pair. Nargles don't like odd numbers."

Blaise furrowed his eyebrows as he studied her unsurely. "I really should get going," he replied before glancing around nervously to see if anyone was watching. "Here," he pulled a set of gloves out of his pocket and shoved them toward Luna, "Put these on."

Luna beamed and quickly pulled the gloves on. "Thank you, Blaise."

He nodded stiffly before he quickly turned and strode away from the two girls.

Daria watched him curiously as he walked away and stuck his bare hands into his pockets to try to protect them from the chilling wind.

"Would you like to get a drink?" Luna asked, breaking Daria's stare away from Blaise.

"Sure," she nodded and the two girls head to the Three Broomsticks.

* * *

Daria sat alone at the bar, sipping on her fire whiskey. Luna had ditched her after being invited to Honeyduke's with Neville.

"Scoot over," she heard a gruff voice beside her say before he shoved her over a few inches so he could sit in the last open bar seat beside her.

She raised an eyebrow at Draco as he ordered a fire whiskey from Madam Rosmerta before turning to look at her. "What?" he snapped.

"Where's your date?" she asked, taking a glance around the bar to look for the skanky blond with a strawberry fetish.

Draco glared into his fire whiskey after taking a long drink. "She dropped me. Apparently it was Nott she was interested in. So when the opportunity to snog him in an alleyway presented itself, she gladly took it," he growled.

"You must be so heartbroken," Daria rolled her eyes, making him turn his glare on her.

"I'm Draco Fucking Malfoy. Why would anyone _not_ want to go out with me," he grumbled.

"It's a mystery," Daria replied sardonically, "I mean what isn't is there to like? You're so chivalrous and pleasant to be around."

Draco shook his head in annoyance. "I like you better when you're drunk," he mumbled.

"Don't worry, I'm getting there," Daria sighed before taking another sip from her glass.

Draco had finished his first fire whiskey and had started on a second one before he spoke again. "You'd snog me. Wouldn't you?"

Daria scoffed, "Oh yes. It's on the top of my to-do list. Right under provoking a hippogriff."

"Sometimes I can't tell if you're being sarcastic or not," Draco furrowed his eyebrows.

Daria rolled her eyes. "Of course I'm being sarcastic you dimwit," she snapped.

"No need to get snippy," he scowled, "Not my fault you hide your feelings behind a thinly veiled layer of humor."

Daria sighed in agitation and took another drink. "At least I don't screw anything with a pulse."

He chuckled, "As I've said before, I didn't hear you complaining at the time."

She shot him a glare, "You're an ass."

He reciprocated her glare but couldn't hide his amusement at riling her up, "And you're a filthy halfblood."

Daria reached for her glass and flung its contents at his face. Shock flooded his eyes as he sputtered and tried to wipe his face off with his sleeve.

Daria grinned evilly and leaned in so she was just inches from his face. "And you're all wet," she hissed before standing up and storming out of the bar.

**A/N: So this story topped its record number of views again last night at 597! Woo Hoo! I also got my the most reviews I've ever gotten on one chapter before so a special thanks to Maeve Epans, Gorgana, RashaTemple, Nicky-Maree, Christine, and AmythestAgent. Love Got In The Way now has 85 reviews... lets try to make that 90 =P If you liked the chapter and want to read more, leave me a review and look for the next part soon.**


	48. The one with the little green goblins

The next few weeks flew by and Christmas break was quickly approaching. Daria was looking forward to the small break. Between classes, prefect duties, friends, boyfriends, and ex-boyfriends she was about ready to start pulling her hair out. And it didn't help that the latter three all happened to be living with her.

Daria was thankful to finally get some alone time one evening while Harry, Ron, and Hermione were off on another mission.

She sat on one of the plushie couches in the prefect common room reading one of her favorite romance novels and listening to Kiki purring beside her. Her ipod was next to her head and was currently playing 'Bloodstream' by Stateless. (this would be the part where you should go to youtube =P)

She didn't bother looking up from her book when she heard someone enter and take a seat on one of the other couches. She immediately knew whom it was when Kiki jumped off the couch and pranced over to the newcomer.

"Good evening, Draco," Daria sighed, not bothering to take her eyes off her book.

Draco grunted in acknowledgment before he dug into his book bag for his potions book. The buckle of his bag scraped against his forearm as he reached in and he quickly pulled it back to his body with a hiss. They had told him the pain would eventually wear off and he'd only feel it when someone used it, but that was a lie. His arm constantly felt like it was on fire. Always burning, burning away at his soul.

He noticed Daria was eyeing him curiously so he quickly reached back into his bag with his other arm and pulled out the supplies he needed to write his potions essay. He watched her out of the corner of his eye until she had gone back to reading her book before he opened his.

Draco tried to concentrate but the music was starting to get to him. "I don't like this song. It's too somber."

"Then go to your room," she sighed, not really having the energy to add the appropriate amount of bite to her words. "Or get over it because I was here first."

He rolled his eyes at her stubbornness but didn't push it. He tried to focus on his essay but the silence was starting to eat at him just like the music. "It's too quiet in here," he stated, looking around the common room, "Where is everyone?"

"Weren't you just complaining because it wasn't quiet enough for you?" Daria raised her eyebrow, "And I don't know where everyone is."

That was a lie. While she couldn't speak for the Ravenclaws, Hufflepuffs, and Pansy, she knew that Harry, Ron, and Hermione were on another mission with Dumbledore.

Draco furrowed his eyebrows as he looked up at her. "You notice that we seem to be left alone together a lot?"

Daria sighed, "You noticed that too, huh?"

"It's almost like somebody plans it," he hummed, more to himself than to her.

"It is... isn't it," Daria pondered. It was strange. So far, every time her friends had gone off Horcrux hunting, she had managed to end up alone with Draco.

"Don't you start," Draco warned at the sight of the contemplative expression on her face, "Don't you go overanalyzing that. I highly doubt there are little green goblins stealing your bloody trio away on secret missions just to get the two of us alone together."

Daria's eyebrows shot up in shock. He had no idea just how true his statement was... only instead of little green goblins stealing her friends, it was Dumbledore. But why would he want to make her hang out with Draco?

She stopped herself. Now she was overanalyzing. Dumbledore was taking her friends away for a very important mission. They had to find those horcruxes. But why couldn't she have gone? She was beginning to wonder what her mission could possibly be.

"You know I'm still mad at you," Draco huffed, breaking Daria out of her thoughts.

"For what?" she raised her eyebrow.

"For dumping your drink onto my head," he snapped, narrowing his eyes.

Daria scoffed, "You'll get over it. You've done far worse to me."

He rolled his eyes, "Not still bitter about the gravel are we?"

Daria nodded, "And the books."

Draco smirked, "Aw yes, the books. That was a good one."

"I'm going to bed," she sighed, closing her book loudly and standing up, "Come on, Kiki."

For once Kiki actually listened and hopped off the couch from her spot next to Draco to rub against Daria's legs.

Daria turned to leave but Draco's voice stopped her. It was so low she thought she had imagined it. "What?" she asked, turning back toward him.

He glared down at his potions book for a moment before he repeated himself. "Are you happy?"

Daria bit her lip as she watched him, wondering if he was going to look up at her. She knew he hadn't meant was she happy about getting him angry. His words were haunted with their history.

"I am," she replied hesitantly. He finally looked up at her with his icy blue eyes and she felt her heart start pounding painfully against her rib cage.

He nodded in acceptance of her words, "Good." Then he moved his eyes back to his book and started writing his essay again.

Daria turned again to leave but was frozen by a new thought. "Are you?" she whispered, not turning back to face him. She was afraid that he hadn't heard her since her voice was so quiet but when she glanced over her shoulder to look at him she found his silvery eyes on her once again. He searched her eyes for a moment before pursing his lips and turning back to his homework. She took that as her answer... _no_.

She bit her bottom lip hard, to try to keep it steady as she hurried away to her bedroom.

* * *

Daria was startled awake by something brushing up against her face. Her eyes shot open to find Harry standing over her bed with his hand on her cheek.

She smiled up at him, "Hey."

"Hey," he sleepily smiled back, "I wanted to let you know that we just got back."

Daria nodded and sat up with a yawn. "How'd it go?"

"Pretty good," he sighed, "We haven't found any more yet, but we've got a few leads."

"That's great, Harry," she encouraged.

She leaned forward and pressed her lips against his. She felt his smile grow as he kissed her back and wrapped his arms around her.

After a few moments she pulled away and rested her forehead against his. "I've missed you."

"I've missed you too," he replied before leaning in and giving her another peck on the lips.

"Do you want to stay here tonight?" she asked, hesitantly.

His grin spread to fill up the rest of his face. "I thought you'd never ask," he stated before climbing into her bed beside her.

"No funny business though," she shot him a warning look, "Only sleeping."

"Of course," he smiled.

She laid back down and Harry laid down behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. It felt nice, to be this close to someone. To have someone who cared for her, who was good for her, who she could actually be with. _'I am happy,'_ she told herself, _'There's nothing more I could possibly want.'_

That was a lie. There was one thing... one thing that could make this moment perfect. And that was if Draco was in Harry's place.

* * *

The next day was the last day of classes before break and Daria was relieved that she wouldn't have so much on her mind for the next two weeks. She was going to be the only person in the prefect dorm over break. Harry and Hermione were going to the burrow with Ron. Tomorrow was Saturday and they would be leaving Sunday, leaving Daria to enjoy the beautiful peace of an empty common room.

"I love patrolling," Daria smiled as her and Ron sauntered along the fourth floor corridors. "It's so quiet in these abandoned halls."

"As opposed to our common room?" Ron chuckled.

"Or our bathroom," Daria added. Ron quickly nodded in agreement.

"It's like Dumbledore is performing an experiment. Trying to see which house can go the longest without murdering the other houses," he scoffed.

"I think we could all be one big happy family if it weren't for the Slytherins," Daria argued.

"I don't think so," Ron shook his head, "Even without them, there are way to many couples in our dorm for things not to blow up sooner or later. There's me and Hermione, you and Harry, Malfoy and Parkinson, Abbott and MacMillian... heck, even the two Ravenclaw prefects are together. What are their names again?"

Daria shrugged, "I can never remember. I just call them the Ravenclaws."

"Well regardless, there is entirely too much snogging in our common room. What's Dumbledore thinking putting a bunch of hormonal teenage couples together in one dorm?" Ron ranted.

"Oh please," Daria scoffed, "It's not like this stuff doesn't happen in the other dorms. There are always students trying to sneak into the opposite sex's dorm."

"Yeah but at least they don't have the privacy of their own rooms," Ron rolled his eyes.

"Well if you want we can go talk to Dumbledore. See if he can put a spell on Hermione's bedroom door to keep boys out," Daria joked.

Ron paled, "I don't like that idea. But maybe if he could do that for all the other bedrooms..."

"So they'd all migrate to the common room to make out?" Daria chuckled causing Ron to roll his eyes. "Speaking of Granger," Daria continued, "How is she? Aside from classes I feel like I hardly ever see her anymore.

"Busy," Ron sighed, "She's always in the stupid library. I hardly get to see her either."

"You could have always dated a dumb girl instead," Daria smiled.

"Oh but what fun would that be?" Ron laughed, "Then I wouldn't have someone to constantly correct my grammatical errors and confuse me with big words."

Ron continued, "What about you and Harry? Things going okay?"

Daria nodded, "Yep. Things are sailing right along quite smoothly. He's hanging out with some of the guys in the Gryffindor common room tonight."

"And he didn't invite me?" Ron huffed.

"What are you trying to say, Ron?" Daria raised an eyebrow, "Aren't you having fun with me?"

Ron rolled his eyes, "Yes but I'd much rather be goofing off than patrolling, even if it is with you."

"Thanks Ron," Daria rolled her eyes, "That makes me feel so special."

Ron chuckled and elbowed her in the shoulder as they continued down the corridors.

**A/N: Another whimsical chapter. I knew Daria would patrol with Ron and Draco would notice they were always alone together but for the rest I just let my fingers lead the way, so I hope it turned out ok. Oh and thanks to all my reviewers, the story now has 90 reviews XD Yay! Oh and here's some more good news... this is the last filler chapter. The next chapter will include a plot twist and then chapter 50 is going to include another one (and keep in mind that it's one of these chaptes that end in a 0) so keep an eye out for them. Leave me some reviews if you want more =D**


	49. The one with the rumor

Daria sat up in her bed with a yawn and glanced over at her alarm clock. 8 am. Earlier than she had intended to get up, but with her friends leaving tomorrow, she would surely be able to start sleeping in later soon.

She rolled out of bed and threw on a pair of jeans and a fitted black t-shirt before making her way to the common room. She looked around for her friends but didn't see them so she turned back around and headed down the dorm hallway again. When she arrived outside the door with a sign reading 'Harry Potter, Head Boy' she lifted her hand and knocked loudly. A few second later Harry opened the door.

"Hey Daria," he grinned, "What can I help you with?"

"I'm going down to breakfast. Do you want to come with me?" Daria asked.

He shook his head, "Nah, I'm trying to get everything packed up for tomorrow. I should be down before too long though."

"Alright," Daria nodded, "I'll see you later then."

She turned on her heal and strolled down toward the Great Hall.

When she arrived she took a seat at the Gryffindor table next to Luna. She was oblivious to the abundance of stares she was receiving.

"Morning, Luna," Daria chirped as she grabbed a piece of toast and started slathering some jam onto it.

"Good morning, Daria," Luna smiled as she stirred some cereal around in her bowl of milk. "Are you excited about Christmas break?"

"Oh yes," Daria beamed, "I'm the only prefect staying behind so I'll get the whole dorm all to myself. It's going to be so quiet."

"That's nice," Luna nodded, "But won't you be lonely without your friends?"

Daria shook her head, "Oh don't worry, I've gotten to see so much of them this year that I'm really looking forward to a few weeks by myself. What about you? Are you going home for break?"

Luna shook her head, "No. I'm staying here this year. We have a nargle infestation at our house."

"Oh no," Daria chuckled, "Well I hope you find a way to get rid of them."

"Don't worry," Luna smiled, "Dad has already placed flaming ginger roots at every window. They should be gone in no time."

Daria shook her head in amusement at her eccentric friend before she noticed that the blond girl Draco had taken to Hogsmeade was staring at her from the Slytherin table. The blond leaned over to whisper something to a girl with glasses beside her as the two continued to gawk at Daria.

Daria cocked her eyebrow and looked around only to find most of the other Slytherins staring at her, along with students from the Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Gryffindor tables.

Daria could feel her breath becoming ragged as she glanced around at all the pairs of eyes on her and could hear whispers all around her.

"Luna," Daria whispered nervously, "Why is everyone staring at me?"

Luna looked confused for a moment before she answered, "Oh. Haven't you heard?"

* * *

Daria stormed into the prefect common room and shot a glare around the room, looking the intended target for her rage. Her eyes landed on the Ravenclaw couple first, who were sharing a wing backed chair. Then they moved to Pansy who was sitting on one of the couched next to Draco, who was trying to scoot himself as far away from her as physically possible, but he was running out of couch. He looked up at her and raised a confused eyebrow at the look of outrage on her face. Then her eyes fell to Harry, who was sitting in a chair by himself, reading the Daily Prophet. He looked up at her and then his face flooded with fear at the look she was giving him.

"Harry James Potter!" Daria screamed, "You're a dead man!"

She lunged for him but he quickly evaded her by jumping out of his chair before she landed on it.

"Just calm down, Daria," Harry stated, putting his hands up in surrender, "Let's talk about this."

"What did you tell Seamus last night?!" she shouted.

"I didn't tell him anything," Harry defended, "Let's go back to my room and talk. This isn't the place."

Daria glanced around the room again. Draco and Pansy were both looking thoroughly amused and the Ravenclaws looked a little terrified.

"Why should I?" Daria hissed, "So some more rumors can be spread about me? And I think that this is definitely the place to talk, since by now I'm sure that the entire school has heard about it!"

"Heard about what?" Ron yawned as he entered the common room, still rubbing his eyes.

"Oh, haven't you heard what's going around the rumor mill today?" Daria snapped, raising her voice to be sure the entire common room could still hear her, "Apparently I screwed Harry Potter and didn't even know about it!"

Ron's eyebrows shot up and Daria could hear Pansy snickering from her place on the couch.

"I never said that," Harry argued, still trying to get Daria to calm down.

"But you didn't deny it!" Daria shouted, "I can just picture it now. You hanging out with the guys, talking about chicks and Seamus turns to you and asks, 'So Harry, you nail Daria yet?' and then you shrug and give some vague ass answer like, 'Well, you know.'"

"Well what was I supposed to say?" Harry defended.

"No!" Daria screamed, "You were supposed to say 'no' because you haven't and you never fucking will! Because this," Daria pointed her finger between her and Harry, "Is so over."

Daria stormed out of the common room into the corridors. She heard Harry emerge behind her and call to her but she just ran faster. She ran with no idea where she was going to go, but she kept running until she couldn't hear Harry behind her anymore.

She didn't stop until she reached the top of the Astronomy Tower. She gripped the railing for support as she felt hot tears start to pour from her eye. She angrily wiped them away as she glared out at the morning sun reflecting off the snowy ground. She unwilling shivered as a gust of cold wind hit her bare arms. A t-shirt had definitely been a bad idea.

She heard quiet footsteps approaching her and groaned. "Go away, Harry."

Daria felt something warm fall onto her shoulders and turned her head to watch as Draco came up beside her and leaned against the railing, looking out at the sky. Daria hesitantly slid her arms through the sleeves of the jacket he had placed around her shoulders.

She glanced over at him and noticed that without his jacket to conceal it, his dark mark was visible on his arm closest to her. It was the first time she had actually seen it and she felt her heart drop at the sight. It was still red and swollen, even though it had had several months to heal. His body was rejecting it because he hadn't wanted it. He hadn't been given a choice.

At that moment she felt nothing but pity for the man beside her. She couldn't possibly focus on being mad at Harry right now. Instead she reached out her right hand and placed it on top of his left one, that was gripping the railing. His icy eyes instantly shot to hers unsurely, making her breath catch in her throat, before he turned his hand over to lace his fingers with hers. Then they both looked away, without a word, back to the sky.

**A/N: Hope you enjoyed this chapter. I know this is a little out of character for Harry but I tried really hard to make him not seem like an asshole. Draco wasn't originally in this part but I think adding him but made it that much better. Don't you? Chapter 50 should be up soon, so be sure to leave me some reviews... let's try to get to 100 ;)**


	50. The one with the lies

**A/N: Here are a few song suggestions for the chapter. 'Keep Breathing' by Ingrid Michaelson, 'My Skin' by Natalie Merchant, and 'A Little Too Not Over You' by David Archuleta (recommended by AmythestAgent).**

"I'll see you guys in two weeks," Daria hugged Hermione and Ron goodbye. She didn't even bother to look at Harry

"Are you sure you don't want to stay with me?" Hermione offered again.

"I'm sure. I'll be fine. I'll see you all soon," Daria reassured her with a smile.

Daria waved goodbye to them as they rode away in a carriage.

'_Maybe this week I'll actually get some privacy,'_ she thought to herself as she walked back up to the castle.

She stopped by the kitchen to grab a large plate of doughnuts and some pumpkin juice to take upstairs with her before making her way back to the prefect common room.

She walked slowly through the practically vacant halls as she nibbled on one of the doughnuts and wondered what she should do with herself today.

She entered the prefect common room and sat down on one of the couches. She sighed happily as she took in the silence, smiling to herself as she continued eating her doughnut.

She summoned a few of her books from her room and contemplated doing some of her homework but ruled it out as a waste of time. Instead she pulled her ipod out of her pocket and turned the volume up all the way, using the speakers for a change instead of her usual headphones. She decided on Untouched by the Veronicas and hit play.

She started humming along with the instruments during the opening music while she finished her doughnut, and then sang along with the first verse while bobbing her head. By the time the chorus rolled around she was singing at the top of her lungs while jumping on the couch.

"I feel so untouched and I want you so much that I just can't resist you, it's not enough to say that I miss you. I feel so untouched right now; need you so much some how. I can't forget you, been going crazy from the moment I met you," She sang loudly with a huge grin on her face. This was going to be an amazing two weeks. No Pansy, no snogging couples, and best of all, no ex-boyfriends.

She heard a noise and looked up to see a very groggy and slightly amused looking Draco watching her from the foot of the stairs leading to the dorms.

Daria blushed as she sat back down and turned the music down.

He smirked, "I can touch you if you really want."

Her embarrassment quickly faded and she rolled her eyes at him. "Can't keep up the gentleman façade for long, can you?"

"Where's your boyfriend?" he asked, ignoring her question.

"He's not my boyfriend," she retorted, "And he went to stay with Ron. I was supposed to be the only prefect here. Why didn't you go home?"

He shrugged, "I've got some things I need to do here. Sleeping was supposed to be one of them, but some psycho Gryffindor shot that horse in the face." He yawned loudly and pushed his tousled hair out of his face before plopping down in the spot beside her.

"Well then go back to bed," she suggested, "You could always put up a silencing spell."

He shook his head and rested it on the back of the couch, closing his eyes. "No, it's too late. You ruined it with your terrible singing."

She scoffed and shook her head but didn't retort. Instead, she turned up her music a few more notches and grabbed a novel that was on top of her stack of books and started trying to find her place.

"What? I'm I not entertaining enough for you?" Draco grumbled, his eyes still closed.

"You're still awake, are you?" Daria sighed. He opened his eyes long enough to shoot her an annoyed look before closing them again. "You know, I was looking forward to a nice peaceful break by myself and I plan to do everything I can to make that happen. Talking to you is the opposite of peaceful."

"Then why don't _you_ go to _your_ room?" he shot back as he lifted his head and raised an eyebrow.

Daria hummed in thought before she nodded. "I think I will."

She stood up and tucked her ipod into her pocket before grabbing her doughnuts and juice. She looked down at her stack of books and furrowing her eyebrows. She was about to set down her things and pull out her wand to levitate them when Draco spoke up.

"I'll get them," he offered before he stood up and scooped up her pile of books.

Daria glared at him. "No. Put them down and I'll just levitate them."

"That's silly," he argued, "Your hands are already full. There's no since in putting everything down to draw your wand. I'll carry them."

"You'll drop them," she snapped, still glaring at him.

He smirked. "Don't you trust me?"

"No," she shot.

He chuckled lightly as he started walking toward to dormitory stairs. She eyed him suspiciously for a few seconds before hesitantly trudging up the stairs behind him.

He groaned in annoyance. "Could you be any damn louder?"

Daria shot him a glare before she continued to stomp up the stairs, putting forth as much effort as she could to make her footfalls louder.

He rolled his eyes at her immature actions. "You could at least try to be grateful."

"I didn't ask for your help," she pouted as they reached the top of the landing.

He turned and narrowed his eyes. "Well fine," he snapped before he moved over to the railing, "Carry your own bloody books." Then he released her books, allowing them to fall to the floor below with a loud thud.

Daria watched him in shock and felt her plate and glass slip from her hands and shatter onto the ground. She put all her efforts into the most dangerous looking glare she could muster. "You fucking asshole."

His lips curved into a smirk. "I've often wondered if you think my name is 'asshole'," he hummed, imitating her previous comment.

"This is why nobody fucking likes you," she hissed.

"Oh please," he scoffed, "Everyone likes me. I'm Draco Malfoy."

"So I've heard," she snapped, "But that's not something to be proud of. You're a prick and a liar."

"I am not a liar," he growled, glaring back at her. "I have never lied to you."

"Bullshit!" she yelled as she raised her hand to his face. "Here's a few: 'I don't want to be like my father' *_slap_* 'Your blood doesn't matter to me' *_slap_* 'I'll always be there to catch you' *_slap_* 'I'm trying to protect you' *_slap_* 'I love you' *_slap_*..."

She raised her hand to slap him again due to the magnitude of the last lie but he reached up and grabbed her wrist before it reached him. He caught the other one as well as it also went for him and held both of them at her sides as he pushed her up against the railing.

His eyes bore into hers angrily as he brought his face close to hers before breathing out his response. "None of those were ever lies."

Her glare softened with confusion before he closed the space between their lips.

She stood frozen against his lips until she felt his grip on her wrists loosen and his hands move up to her cheeks. She felt her defenses shatter against the fluttering in her heart and she kissed him back desperately. She reached up and rested her hands on his forearms, but he immediately broke the kiss and pulled his arms back, grabbing his left arm in pain.

"Sorry," she whispered, realizing she must have grazed his dark mark with her nails. His blue eyes searched hers for a moment, looking for any sign of resistance before he pressed his lips against hers again and wrapped his arms around her waist. She breathed a sigh of relief that she hadn't ruined what was happening between them as she kissed him back and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer.

She could feel her stomach doing those familiar jumping jacks and her heart trying to beat its way out of her chest, and she realized that nothing had changed. It hadn't mattered that they had pulled away from each other for a half a year. The feelings were still there, they had just been buried, and they would never be rid of them.

She was pulled away from her thoughts when she felt his tongue brush up against her lips. She immediately opened her mouth, letting him in as he pulled her closer. He moved his hands to the back of her thighs and she wrapped her legs around him as he lifted her up.

He pulled away from her lips and moved to her neck. He nibbled at the flesh over her pounding pulse, making her sharply suck in a breath as she felt her entire body start tingling at his long forgotten touch.

"I hate you so much sometimes," she sighed as he continued to stir up feelings deep down inside her.

He looked back up at her and smirked. "Yeah, yeah. I hate you too," he scoffed before stealing her lips again.

He kissed her roughly for a moment before grabbing the bottom of her shirt and pulling it over her head. With the kiss momentarily broken, Draco glanced down at her exposed torso, but his eyes froze on her necklace.

She bit her lip as she watched him study it curiously. It wasn't crazy to still be wearing the necklace he had given her, right? _'No crazier than getting a cat because it has his eyes,'_ she reminded herself.

Finally, he looked back up at her and his eyes were soft, filled with an emotion Daria hadn't seen in them for a very long time. He quickly pulled his own shirt off before kissing her again.

Draco wrapped his arms tightly back around her waist before he moved away from the railing and carried her down the hall to his bedroom. He gently laid her down on his bed, after shooing Kiki away, and climbed on top of her, his lips never leaving hers.

Daria ran her fingers through his hair and smiled against his lips. She had missed this. As much fun as fighting with him had been, it couldn't compare to this. She could never have this with Harry, because her and Draco were meant to be together. Even the prophecy had foretold this, regardless of what would happen next. She wasn't sure what this meant, or what it would make them, but for now she just wanted to enjoy it.

(Fair warning: Mature sexual content ahead.)

She was broken out of her thoughts again when Draco reached around her to unfasten her bra. She shivered as his fingers caressed her spine and the tingling feeling between her thighs intensified.

His fingers roamed her bare skin making her sigh into his mouth as she pressed herself closer to him. She reached up to run her fingers down him sculpted torso and paused when she reached the hem of his pajama bottoms. She poured the remainder of her working brain cells into untying the knot below his navel. Once she had worked the strings free he broke away from her lips to slip his pants off before moving the to the button on her jeans.

Draco quickly freed her legs from the snug denim and then moved to her panties, pulling them down her thighs, her knees, and then her ankles with teasing slowness.

His eyes scanned her naked body as he tried to absorb her with his eyes. Daria fidgeted nervously under his gaze so he swiftly pulled her up onto his lap before consuming her lips again.

She could feel his hardness against her through the thin fabric of his boxers and reflexively rubbed herself against his bulge. He groaned against her lips as he trailed his fingers delicately down her spine before gripping her hips and grinding her body against his harder.

He lifted her up so he could get up onto his knees and slide off his boxers, before he leaned back onto his haunches again, pulling her with him. She yelped out a moan as he grinded their hips together again, this time with nothing between them. Skin against skin.

He released his grip on her hips as he moved his mouth to her collarbone and his hands up to gently caress her breasts. He felt her panting breaths as they grazed the top of his head as he continued to suck at and nibble her skin.

Draco felt a knot of nerves building up in his stomach. He wanted her body, but more than anything, he wanted her. This was going to jumble everything up again. They had just gotten to the point of being very convincing enemies and this was going to drive a stake into that illusion. But this was why he had taken the Felix Felicis, right? To try to get her back... To try to get her to love him again... This hadn't really been what he'd had in mind. He had planned to smooth talk his way back into her heart, but there was just so much tension built up between the two of them that it couldn't be controlled. It was like a snowball. It couldn't be stopped now; they were too deep and already drowning in each other.

"This is going to destroy everything we've worked for," he sighed against her neck.

"I know," Daria whispered as she closed her eyes and swallowed. "But I'm ok with that."

Draco's eyes shot back up to hers, his eyebrows showing his slight shock at her word before he hid it with a half smirk, half smile. "Me too."

He stole her lips again as he pulled her body up so he could guide the tip of his shaft into her. She let out a gasp as she tightened her legs around him, pulling the rest of his length inside her.

He moved his mouth to her shoulder and softly bit down on her flesh. He would have to go slow. It had been too long and she would have to get used to him again. But she just felt so good wrapped so tightly around him and he took a few deep breath to try to calm himself as he gently rocked his hips against hers, sliding ever so gently out and then back in.

Her feminine sighs tickled his neck as their bodies continued to sway together and his fingers gripped her a little tighter, digging his nails into her delicate skin, but she didn't seam to notice as her own nails dug into his shoulder blades.

After a few long, agonizing moments, he increased the pace a little as he slid himself in and out of her faster. Her moans picked up to match his pace as she shivered in his arms. He unclamped his mouth from her shoulder and noticed the he had left a rather obvious red mark on her ivory skin. He lifted his face up and brushed his cheek against hers as he planted tender kisses along her jaw line.

He felt her rubbing against him with more and more force, with each of his thrusts and realized that she was nearing her peak. He slowed his pace down a little as he grinded deeper into her with every clash of their hips. She shuttered and released a strangled cry as she trembled in his arms. He watched her intently as she came undone around him, trying to etch the moment into his memory, since he wasn't sure he would get the chance again.

Only after her body relaxed in his grip did he bring his lips back to hers and finish himself off with a few more trusts. He groaned into her mouth as he reached his release and deepened their kiss.

She ran her fingers through his hair as she kissed him back. But soon her limps started to feel like lead from all the energy she had exerted and she moved her head to rest it on his shoulder.

She felt his soft lips against her pulse as he trailed a line of kisses along her neck while stroking her hair. This moment couldn't be more perfect if she had dreamt it up herself. She had lied to him. She hadn't been happy, because this right here was what happiness felt like. This moment, right here... with just her and Draco... together.

She sighed blissfully as she closed her eyes, trying to take him in with all her senses. Her mouth opened of it's own accord.

"I love you."

**A/N: It feels like this chapter took me forever to write because I redid the lead up three times, trying to make it just right. So I really hope it worked out. Now the question is... what will happen next. Will they get back together? Will Draco return her feelings? Guess you'll just have to wait on chapter 51 :) Leave me some good reviews please.**


	51. The one with the Felix Felicis vial

**A/N: I think 'Ever Enough' by A Rocket To The Moon goes really well with this chapter.**

Daria's body stiffened and her eyes widened when she realized what had just escaped from her mouth. She bit her bottom lip nervously as the seconds ticked by at an agonizingly slow pace and she wondered what Draco would do.

Suddenly his body started vibrating as he chuckled heartily. She furrowed her eyebrows and pulled her face back to look at him. His lips were turned up in a cocky grin as he continued to snicker.

He shifted himself under her before he leaned her back and laid her on the mattress. He lowered himself so his face was hovering over hers as his laughter started to fade, but the arrogant smirk remained.

"I know," he replied before giving her a peck on the lips and climbing out of his bed.

Draco stood up, not bothering to put his clothes back on as he headed for the door to the hallway.

"Where are you going?" Daria asked, cringing at the sound of desperation in her voice.

He turned back around to face her and raised an eyebrow, looking thoroughly amused at her clinginess. "After you woke me up this morning with your atrocious singing, I'd planned to take a shower. But then you distracted me so I'm going to go do that now. You can stay here if you like. I'll be back in a bit."

Then he turned on his heel and exited his room, leaving her alone.

She sighed loudly in agitation as she propped herself up on her elbows and glanced around his room. This was the first time she had ever been in one of the non-Gryffindor prefect rooms and her first thought was that it was entirely too clean. It rivaled even Hermione's tidy dorm. Weren't teenage boys supposed to have filthy rooms? This must be one of the perks of having a pedigree. She thought about how she couldn't even see the floor in her own room and cringed... she probably shouldn't ever let him see it lest he be scared away by her slobbish tendencies.

She caught a glimpse of herself in a mirror on his wall and immediately felt self-conscious without her clothes on. She looked around and easily found her underwear on the spotless floor. She stood up and slid them back on before looking around for a shirt and realizing both of their shirts had been discarded at the top of the steps. She quickly decided that the trip wasn't worth it and instead started looking through his dresser for a t-shirt.

After several drawers, she finally found one with casual shirts, but sighed in annoyance when she realized they were all long sleeved. At least it was winter. She had no idea what he planned to do when summer rolled around. Perhaps wear an athletic armband? That wouldn't look too suspicious, would it?

She shook away her thoughts as she picked out a simple, black, long sleeved t-shirt and pulled it on. She glanced back at the large ornate mirror she had noticed a moment before and rolled her eyes at the sight of it. No man besides a Malfoy would have a full-length mirror in his bedroom. She attempted to tame her bird's nest of a mane but quickly gave up on her approach. She picked up her pants and pulled her wand out of the pocket, before performing a detangling spell on her hair.

She groaned in annoyance as she sat back down on the bed and contemplated smacking him again when he got back. Who the hell does that? Laughs and then leaves after being told 'I love you'. _'Probably the same guy who dated a girl that dumped him immediately after he said those same words to her,'_ she reminded herself.

She continued to sit there and wait for him for several minutes before Kiki trotted in and hopped up beside her onto the bed. Daria petted her absentmindedly as she mewed happily.

Daria was just contemplating going back to her own room because she felt stupid sitting here waiting on him when something on his night stand caught her eye. It had been carelessly tossed aside and seemed out of place on the otherwise vacant table. She reached over and picked it up so she could examine it.

It was a potions vial. But not just any vial, it was a Felix Felicis vial... an empty one. Daria turned it over in her hand and eyed it curiously. When had he taken this? _Why_ had he taken this?

She jumped slightly when she heard a creaking noise and looking up to see Draco leaning against the doorframe, now fully clothed and his hair slightly damp. His eyes roamed over her without restraint, making her shift slightly under his gaze. "I see you've made yourself at home like your cat. But at least it doesn't steal my clothes."

Daria ignored his statement as she held up the vial. "What is this?"

He raised his eyebrow condescendingly. "It's a vial."

She shot him a glare. "Well obviously. But what kind of vial?"

"Probably a potions vial," he rolled his eyes.

She contemplated throwing the vial at his head. "Let's just cut to the chase then. When did you drink your liquid luck and why?"

"What is this? An interrogation?" he sneered as he uncomfortably adjusted his shoulders against the doorframe.

"Just answer the question and stop being so damn snarky," she huffed.

He gritted his teeth and search her eyes for a long moment before he reluctantly opened his mouth. "I took it this morning, but obviously its effects have worn off since your back to being cranky."

She fought to control her emotions. "So what? You took it to try to get lucky over break since your pug isn't here?"

He smirked, "You're cute when you're jealous."

'_And people say I'm the one who can't take things seriously,'_ Daria thought resentfully as she stood up and went to leave his room. She'd had enough of him dancing around the subject.

He chuckled as she went to pass him before tightly wrapping his arms around her waist to stop her. "You're infuriating. Do you know that?"

She shot him a look that let him know that she was not at all amused but he just smirked wider as he pulled her closer and rested his forehead against hers. "I took the stupid potion because I've been waiting a whole bloody year to hear you confess your _undying_ love for me and I was growing tired of waiting for you to change your mind."

Her confused expression must have been very funny looking because he grinned in amusement at her before he dipped his head down to trap her bottom lip between his. She felt her heart beat pick up and her stomach fill with flutters but willed her brain to keep working. There was something she needed to know before she would let herself melt into his kiss.

She begrudgingly pulled away and looked up into his eyes that were still dancing with mirth. She was glad that her emotional turmoil entertained him so. "You never told me how you feel about me."

"Sometimes your as dense as Pothead," he rolled his eyes, "I would have thought my feelings for you were obvious, especially since I've expressed them before."

Daria chose to ignore the insult as her stomach did an excited flip. "That was a long time ago," she stated, "I think I need to be reminded again."

His lips turned up at the corners into a smile... that's right, an actual smile, before he turned her around and pressed her against the wall, looking into her eyes meaningfully. He leaned in so his lips were right next to her ear, his hot breath hitting her neck and making her shiver. "I love you," he whispered before planting a few delicate kisses along her jaw.

She closed her eyes, relishing the feeling of his lips against her skin before she placed both of her hands on his face and pulled his lips back to hers.

**A/N: So I know this chapter was pretty short. I originally was going to have it as part of chapter 50 but wanted to go ahead and get it published so I split them up. Hope you enjoyed it, if you did leave me a review. And thanks to everyone who reviewed chapter 50. It got 10 reviews, which is more than any chapter has gotten so far so I'm doing a very happy dance right now =)**


	52. The one about someday

**A/N: I think this chapter goes really well with 'Dark Side' by Kelly Clarkson. It really narrates what Draco must be feeling really well.**

Daria shifted slightly in Draco's arms as she felt sunlight hitting against her face. She groaned slightly when she felt the soreness in her limbs and the tenderness between her legs and buried her face back into his bare chest to try to steal a few extra minutes of peace. She knew that the dawn would bring the inevitable questions and confusion and she just wanted to enjoy him for a little while longer before things got complicated again.

She felt him shift under her and looked up at his face to see if he had woken up, but his eyes were still sealed shut as his sleepy breathing continued. She decided it would be best for her to go ahead and take her shower before he woke up. She sighed and took one last glance at his sleeping form before she carefully pried his arms off of her and climbed out of bed.

She stopped by her room to grabbed some clean clothes on her way to the bathroom and decided to do a quick tidying up spell incase for some reason, passion would lead them in here. It was better, not nearly as clean as the room she'd slept in last night, but it would have to do. She hastily grabbed some underwear, jeans, and a fitted jumper before she continued on her way to the bathroom.

She pulled out her ipod and hit shuffle. It began playing 'Dark Side' by Kelly Clarkson and she smiled slightly because it reminded her of Draco. She turned the tap up as hot as she could bear it and tried to let the pulsing water clear her head.

Draco loved her and she loved him, just like they were supposed to. Soon he was going to kill her, like he was supposed to. She decided that she hated those two words... 'Supposed to' shouldn't be defining her life. Why couldn't they just be together and be happy, if only for a little while? Soon their time at Hogwarts would be over and the war would rip him away from her again... then he'd kill her. She frowned as the vision played behind her eyelids.

_Daria kneeled on the ground in front of Draco as he held his wand to her throat. His eyes were cold and emotionless. _

_He leaned down so his lips were next to her ear for just an instant, whispering something unknown, before he straightened back up and a green light shot out of the tip of his wand._

She quickly shook her head to try to rid it of the vision. Why did things have to be some damn complicated? None of her peers had to worry about their boyfriends killing them. But maybe...

Maybe just for now they could forget about all of that. Why couldn't that night in the Astonomy Tower stretch out for just a little longer? Why couldn't they just enjoy each other for a little while before everything got royally fucked up? Why couldn't they, just for now, pretend to be happy?

Daria shut off the tap and dried herself off with a towel before using a drying spell on her hair, deciding on a whim to make it straight today. She brushed her teeth and threw her clothes on before hurrying back to him. She didn't want to waste a minute of their stolen time together.

When she got back to Draco's room, she found him sitting on his bed fully clothed, staring off into space. He spotted her out of the corner of his eye and quickly looked her over before locking his eyes with hers. She wondered if her stomach would ever stop doing black flips every time he looked at her... she hoped not.

She didn't bother to hesitate before she let her feet carry her to his side. She sat down next to him and rested her head on his shoulder as he wrapped his arms around her.

"So what now?" he sighed, his breath ghosting over the top of her head.

She scoffed slightly. "I was hoping you'd know."

Draco rested his head on top of hers but didn't respond.

"We could always..." Daria started, chewing nervously on her bottom lip, "Pick up where we left off."

She felt him stiffen slightly beside her and he remained silent for a few moments before he replied. "What about the prophecy?"

"Screw the prophecy," she shot, lifting her head to look up at him, "I'm tired of wasting time. If I'm going to die then I want to spend the little time I have left right here. With you."

He raised an eyebrow as he studied her. "You know I'm not going to kill you, right?"

"But I had a vision..." Daria started but he cut her off.

"Daria. I'm not going to murder you," he pressed sternly, "I promise. And I'd like it if you trusted me."

Her emerald eyes searched his quick silver ones for a few long seconds before she sighed. "I do trust you."

"Alright then," he nodded stiffly, "Then no more talk of me _Avada_-ing you. I don't care what that damn ball said."

Her lips curved up at the sight of him looking so frustrated all because he thought she didn't trust him. She leaned in and softly brushed her lips against the corner of his mouth that she could reach and his scowl instantly softened.

"We have to be sneaker this time," he noted, "No one... and I mean _no one_ can know. Not Zabini, not Parkinson, and especially not the mudblood."

"Hermione," Daria corrected, "Or at least Granger."

He scowled but didn't argue.

"It's odd that you call you 'friends' by their last names," she hummed causing him to roll his eyes.

"That's not important," he scolded, "Do you agree not to tell anyone? We can't have this getting out. It would be extremely dangerous for both of us. I won't have anyone using you to get to me."

"I understand," she nodded with a playful smile to try to lighten the mood, "It will be our little secret."

He gave her a half smile and she felt herself drowning in his eyes. "We don't have very much time before the war will drag me away from Hogwarts and I don't know how long it will last. We'll just have to take this day-by-day. But someday..." his eyes twinkled as his smile widened, "Someday we'll be together without fear of persecution. Someday we'll tell the world and not give a damn what it thinks because we'll be too deliriously happy to care."

"Someday..." she smiled before stealing his lips.

The word triggered a memory, from one of her conversations with Luna last year.

"_Maybe someday, when all this is over, all of us can be happy and we can go on double dates."_

Daria grinned against his lips at the memory. Luna had been a little too hopeful since the possibility of both couples surviving the war and living happily ever after was dismal, but the thought was comforting.

She could dream of someday and settle for today, another stolen day with her secret lover... And, for now, that was enough.

"I'm famished," Draco complained as he broke away from her lips, "I don't think I had anything to eat yesterday. Some Gryffindor kept shagging me."

She rolled her eyes and pushed him off the bed. "Come one, Casanova. Let's go get some breakfast."

Draco pulled himself off the floor and shot her a glare. "Who?"

Daria shook her head as her nickname was lost on him. "Just more sarcasm that went way over your head. Now are you coming or not?"

"I'm coming. Keep your panties on," he grumbled as he brushed himself off and followed her to the door, earning him a glare. He chuckled and quickly headed down the hall in front of her in case she decided to smack him again.

* * *

Daria sat in the Great Hall munching on a plate of doughnuts, trying to make up for the ones she had lost yesterday. She was trying to keep her eyes on her food but they kept roaming over to the other side of the Great Hall where a pair of stormy blue eyes watched her intently. She was extremely grateful that the Hall was so empty due to break.

"Hello Daria," Luna chirped as she took the seat across from Daria.

"Morning Luna," Daria smiled back before taking another bite of her doughnut, "How are you today?"

"I'm fine," Luna nodded, "My father was able to get rid of the nargle infestation at home, but not before they stole all our shoes."

"That's terrible," Daria replied, trying to suppress a chuckle as she wondered what really happened to the shoes.

"You seem to be doing good too," Luna noted, "You're lips are all puffy today. Is that because of Draco?"

Daria felt her muscles tense as her spine straightened. She forced herself to continue looking down at her doughnuts so her eyes wouldn't betray her. "Why would you think that? I'm just trying a new glamour spell. Malfoy has nothing to do with it."

Luna hummed in thought. "I just figured with you and Harry broken up, that Draco would swoop in and try to stir things up again. Especially with all the prefects gone for break."

Daria felt her stomach churn uneasily. How could Luna read people so easily? To know exactly what Draco would do when Daria hadn't even been able to predict it.

"Blaise and Draco are very different," Luna continued, "Blaise is very guarded and tries to ignore how he feels so he shuts me out and ignores me. If I didn't know any better I would think that he hated me. But you and Draco on the other hand... You two wear your feelings on your sleeves. It's clear to anyone who takes the time to look at what ever you two have isn't over yet."

"What are you talking about, Luna," Daria furrowed her eyebrows, "Malfoy and I hate each other."

Luna smiled knowingly and it made Daria feel uneasy. "No. You're mean to each other. You pick on one another because you like each other. Kind of like when Zacharias Smith dipped my hair in ink during first year."

Daria just stared at her in confusion. Unsure if whether continuing to deny everything she said would help or not.

"You should try sitting facing away from each other," Luna added, "If you want to keep it a secret that is. If you aren't facing each other, it's much easier to control your eyes. Just look at Blaise..."

Both girls glanced across at Blaise's back. "I hardly ever catch him looking at me during meals anymore," Luna continued, her voice still dreamily, but a small frown polluted her lips.

"You can't tell anyone about this, Luna," Daria started as she continued to stare at Blaise's back, his shoulders tense as he glared at the wall in front of him. She really missed his friendship and hated to see him like this. "It's too dangerous for anyone to know. You of all people should understand that."

"I know," Luna nodded. "I promise I won't tell."

Daria nodded stiffly as she went back to her doughnuts and Luna started humming tunelessly.

"I think if anyone has a chance of making it through this war," she started quietly, making Daria startle slightly, "It's you two."

Daria smiled halfheartedly. "I hope so."

**A/N: Sorry this one took a little bit longer than they usually do but the last two chapters were tough acts to follow. Plus I've been working on some story banners for chapter 29 and this chapter. They can both be found on my profile. So go look at them and let me know what you think ;)**

** If anyone is interested in making me some more banners or fan art I'd be very excited about it *hint hint***

**The story topped its highest views the other day with 641 views! Yay! Thanks to everyone who has reviewed and please keep them coming. I love hearing what you think of the story, especially specifics.**


	53. The one about getting lost

"Draco?"

"Hm?"

"Why did the liquid luck cause you to be an prick?" Daria raised her head off his chest to look up at him.

Draco smirked as he contemplated his answer. "It knew that you get horny when I'm mean to you."

She narrowed her eyes in annoyance making him laugh. "You know, that probably wasn't from the liquid luck. You're just always a dick."

"Then it's amazing you've been able to control yourself around me for this long," he grinned making her roll her eyes.

"You're insufferable," she sighed as she rested her head back against him.

She aimless traced patterns on his abdomen with her fingertips as she listened to the rhythm of his heartbeats.

"I have another question," she started and heard him sigh.

"Of course you do."

"Did you hear the rumor?" she asked, chewing on her bottom lip.

"Did you forget that I had a front row seat to you trying to tackle Pothead?" he scoffed.

"But did you hear about it before then?" she pressed.

"Of course I did. The heads of the rumor mill are in my house and absolutely adore me. I probably heard about it before Finnigan even started it," he answered, "But I knew it wasn't true."

Daria looked up at him and furrowed her eyebrows. "You did? How?"

"Because," he shrugged, "I know you. And I know you wouldn't sleep with Scarhead unless you loved him."

Daria pursed her lips. "And how are you so sure that I didn't love him?"

"Because you've never looked at him the way you look at me," he replied, gazing straight into her eyes with his icy blue ones.

Daria quickly looked away and blushed. "How can you do that?"

"Do what?" he chuckled.

"Be an arrogant prat one minute and trying to smooth talk your way in between my legs the next?" she smiled.

"It's a gift. Just like you have a gift of completely ruining what could have been a very steamy moment," he sighed but an amused smirk hung on his lips.

"It's just as well," she sighed as she reluctantly climbed out of bed, "I need to start my patrol."

Draco groaned, "That's ridiculous. It's Christmas break. Can't the underclassmen make out in peace for once?"

"Afraid not," Daria shook her head and she pulled her robe on, "And since I'm the only 7th year prefect scheduled to be here it's my job to break up any late night snog sessions in the halls. Can't let those hormonal teenagers have any fun."

"Well at least let me come with you," he stated as he shrugged on his own Slytherin robe.

"Cause that's not suspicious or anything," she rolled her eyes as she laced up her boots and pocketed her wand.

"Well we are both prefects, after all," Draco retorted, "So it's not like it's abnormal for us to be roaming the halls together. I'll just have to be sure to call you a halfblood a few times and you'll have to be sure to call me an asshole."

"That sounds like us," Daria nodded thoughtfully, "Fine. You can come, but only because dark, empty corridors are creepy."

"Kind of like your cat," he chuckled.

"Kneazle," she corrected, "And she's not creepy. She's cute. Which reminds me, I should bring her with us. She's handy to have around."

"She's creepy. She's always staring at me with those scary looking blue eyes," he scowled.

Daria snorted loudly but didn't respond as she headed over to her room to get Kiki.

"What's so funny?" Draco eyed her suspiciously as they headed toward the common room exit with Kiki now trotting along ahead.

"Why don't you like Kiki's eyes? I think they are pretty," she replied, still smiling in amusement. "They are the same color as yours."

Draco furrowed his eyebrows as he studied the kneazle that was weaving its way through Daria's legs as the walked down the deserted corridors.

"That's what provoked me to get her," Daria shrugged, "That's not stalkery. Right?"

"I don't think that's a word," Draco smirked, "And I'm not sure if I should be flattered or if I should be running for the hills since that's a whole new level of 'crazy cat lady'."

Daria grinned, "You should definitely be flattered."

"If you say so," he rolled his eyes, "But I still say that damn thing is creepy."

They continued along the halls aimlessly, not running into any trouble since so many students were away for break. Before they even realize where they were going, they found themselves at the top of the Astronomy Tower. Kiki immediately ran inside and they hesitantly followed her. They searched the room for occupants before Draco grabbed her hips and pushed her up against a wall.

He buried her groan beneath his lips as he brought one of his hands up to her cheek. She smiled against his lips as he started nibbling on her bottom lip and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer.

"Draco," Daria sighed when he pulled away to plant kisses along her neck and collarbone. "We're supposed to be undercover remember? We should really wait until we get back to our dorm."

He growled in frustration and reluctantly pulled away. "We've never gotten caught up here before."

"And that was just because of dumb luck," she argued, "We didn't have anywhere else to go back then. Now we have two very practical bedrooms at our disposal with beds and locks. Two things our peers can only dream of."

He chewed on his tongue as he contemplated her words. "Well then why are we wasting time here for? We should totally get back to those empty bed."

Daria chortled and rolled her eyes. "We aren't don't patrolling yet. Come on. If we hurry we can get done within the hour and then we can go ravish each other until we can't walk."

"I like that idea," Draco grinned as he held the door to the stairs open for her and they descended the long flight to finish patrolling the rest of the castle.

While they were scouring the third floor for underclassmen out of bed they heard footsteps approaching. They both turned to see Dumbledore walking towards them and quickly took a step away from each other, realizing that they were probably walking closer together than enemies probably should.

"Good evening, Daria," Dumbledore greeted as his twinkling eyes darted between the two of them with a knowing smile. "Draco, I wasn't aware that you were planning on staying for break. You weren't signed up for prefect duties."

"Last minute change of plans," Draco retorted tensely. He was very wary of the old wizard in front of him, especially since he had taken Daria to retrieve that damn prophecy without him. He didn't like the idea of his motives being questioned and didn't like the way the old crackpot was smiling at Daria.

"Well that's wonderful," Dumbledore beamed, "I'd be a shame for Daria to have to bear the burden alone. I'm glad you're here to help her, Draco."

Draco scowled but didn't respond.

"Well, I'd better be on my way now. I was just on my way to have a cup of tea with Severus," Dumbledore stated lightly, "Goodnight children. Don't get lost."

He gave Daria a pointed look before sashaying down the corridor.

"Why _did_ you suddenly decide to stay here for break?" Daria questioned after he was out of sight.

The corner of Draco's mouth turned up slightly as he gave her a meaningful look. "I would've thought it was obvious."

Daria grinned and gave him a quick peck on the cheek as they continued walking with Kiki weaving her way through Draco's legs.

"So back on the topic of your demon cat," Draco started, "Why does it always follow me around?"

Daria smiled knowingly as she answered, "She wants to make sure I don't get lost."

**A/N: Sorry that this was another late chapter and then it ended up being short too. I'm hoping the next one will be a little longer though. Leave me a review if you want to read more =)**


	54. The one with Christmas presents

Daria sighed loudly as she glared down at the blank parchment and open potions book in front of her. Only Snape would assign a 12-inch essay over break. _'Sadistic wanker.'_

She glanced over her shoulder at Draco, who was dead to the world, tangled up in a pile of green sheets. Her eyes moved to the humongous pile of gifts that had appeared at the foot of his bed this morning and she suppressed the urge to roll her eyes at them again. It was Christmas morning but she hadn't even gone to her room glance at her puny stack of presents. She already knew there would be four of them. One would contain some sort of knitted apparel, one would be clumsily packaged and heartfelt, one would be perfectly wrapped and practical, and the fourth one... Well she actually wasn't sure if there would be a forth one this year with the way her and Harry had left things.

She turned back to Draco's desk and continued to glare at the blank paper before her. Christmas break was nearing its end and she had to buckle down and write this essay but her mind was far too clouded to be thinking about unicorn blood.

Her eyes cautiously wandered to the stack of Draco's books beside her and she noticed his potions book was on the top. Surely he had finished his essay by now. She shot another quick glance over at his sleeping form before gingerly tugging the piece of parchment out from between the pages of his textbook.

Her mood didn't improve as she looked over his elegant penmanship. It made her clumsy manuscript look down right illegible. Of course, growing up in a pureblood household, her mother had taught her calligraphy but she had intentionally disregarded it and had had no desire to perfect it. Pretty handwriting had always seemed so fickle to her... Along with most of the skills pureblood families prized themselves on.

She managed to look past his pretty script and focused on the words themselves as she used his essay as a guide for hers. As she scribbled she continued to let her mind wander to all the things she intentionally lacked. If she put her mind to it, she could probably pass as one of those respectable pureblood ladies, with their fancy writing, perfect hair and makeup, elegant dresses and crossed legs, high heels, fake smiles, clean living spaces thanks to an army of house elves... _'That's probably how Draco's room is so clean. I bet he gets the house elves to clean it for him.'_

She felt momentarily bogged down by doubt. What did Draco see in her? She may have grown up in the pureblood world, but she had always been an outsider, both unwillingly due to her heritage and willingly due to her hatred for her mother. Surely there were prettier girls at his disposal... Girls that had a shining pedigree and didn't slouch... Girls that his parents would approve of... Girls he didn't have to hide from the world.

"Morning love."

Daria jumped as a strong pair of arms wrapped around her shoulders from behind, not realizing that he had woken up.

"Merry Christmas," he smiled as he planted a soft kiss on her neck.

"Merry Christmas," she replied absently as she continued on her essay.

"Are you copying off me?" he scoffed when he noticed his own essay on the desk beside her.

"No!" she defended quickly, "I'm just using it to get a few ideas for mine."

He breathed a small chuckle as he shook his head at her. "You're lucky I like you. If anyone else was cheating off me I'd make sure they lost house points."

She rolled her eyes as she continued writing.

After a few moments he grew tired of watching her and headed over to check out his mountain of gifts. "Did you already open up your presents?"

Daria shook her head. "No. I haven't even been to my room this morning."

"Well do you want to open our gifts together?" he asked unsurely.

Daria chortled under her breath. "Tell you what... Why don't I give you a head start while I finish my essay and I'll join in on the merriment once I'm done."

He furrowed his brows but didn't push it as he got to work on opening up his extravagant and overstated gifts.

After Daria had finished half of her essay she decided to take a break and turned back to Draco to see that he was only halfway through his heap of presents but already had enough stuff to pay for all the gifts she had ever received in her entire life.

"Are you going to go get your gifts now?" he raised an eyebrow as he watched her chew uncomfortably on her bottom lip.

"Sure," she sighed before she stood up and headed for her bedroom.

She was pleasantly surprised to see the questionable fourth gift at the foot of her bed but shrugged it off as she scooped up the four presents and hurried back to Draco's room.

"Do you need any help carrying them?" Draco asked when she returned and dumped her gifts beside his.

"Nope. I got them all," she smiled as she sat down beside him on the floor.

He examined her puny stack of gifts for a moment but bit his tongue as he grabbed another of one of his own to open.

Daria picked up the largest present first that she knew to be from Mrs. Weasley due to its fluffiness. Inside was a pea green sweater with the letter 'D' stitched on the front.

Daria smiled as she ran her fingers over the scratchy wool. Mrs. Weasley always told her she looked good in green.

"That is the ugliest color I've ever seen," Draco sneered as he inspected her Weasley jumper, "Is that supposed to be a shirt?"

Daria shot him a scolding look. "Ron's mother took the time to think of me and knit me a jumper. Wasn't that nice of her?"

"I think you'd be better off just running around naked," he scoffed.

She glared at him before pulling the scratchy fabric over her head. "Well I like it and from now on I'm going to wear it every time I see you."

He rolled his eyes and went back to his mission of opening his countless presents.

Daria moved onto her next gift. A pristinely wrapped red box, tied with a neat gold bow. This one could only be from Hermione.

She tore off the paper and smiled as she examined the package of peacock quills. Hermione knew that she couldn't keep track of quills to save her life. Daria seemed to go through multiple ones a day.

"Let me guess, that one's from Granger," Draco groaned. "Only she would get someone quills for Christmas. Although I am a little surprised that it's not a book."

"Am I commentating while you open your gifts?" Daria shot. "Merlin, you're so annoying."

Daria grabbed the next present. This one was chucky and clumsily wrapped, a signature aspect of all of Ron's gifts. That bloke couldn't wrap to save his life.

Daria grinned as she ripped off the paper and saw the pile of muggle chocolate bars. Hermione must have helped him this year since there was no chance Ron had gone wondering around the muggle world unsupervised.

"What is that?" Draco questioned as he picked up one of the bars to examine it.

"They're muggle chocolate bars from Ron," Daria replied pointed, hoping to avoid another one of his snide comments... She had no such luck.

Draco scowled. "What? Weasel couldn't afford the real stuff?"

"He just knows I like muggle candy better than wizarding candy," she explained.

"Why?" Draco raised an eyebrow.

"Because muggle candy doesn't do weird shit like try to escape," she snapped, "Plus they tend to add more sugar to their sweets. Now if you can't stop criticizing all my gifts then I'll just go back to my room to open them."

He rolled his eyes. "Fine, I'll keep my mouth shut." His eyes fell to her last present and his back stiffened. Surely he knew who it had to be from.

Daria cautiously picked up Harry's present and turned it over in her hands. It was heavier than it looked and she wondered if he had purchased it before or after they had broken up.

She slowly pulled away the paper and gasped at what was inside. It appeared that Harry had also ventured to the muggle world this winter to buy her a new set of speakers and he had already equipped them with a shrinking charm. Her current speakers had a torn wire so only one of them worked properly. She hadn't expected him to notice since he didn't like her music.

She smiled as she picked up the note that had been laid inside the box.

_Daria,_

_I saw these when Hermione dragged Ron and I to some muggle shops and though of you. I'm not sure what compelled me to get them since now you'll just be able to pollute my brain with more of your crappy music but at least now the sound won't be distorted. _

_Lesser of two evils really._

_I hope you aren't still angry with me. I never meant to hurt you and I've been thinking about you so much since we broke up. I can't wait to see you again. Hopefully we can work this out after break, but until then, I hope you have a great Christmas and finally get some of that peace you've been looking for._

_Love,_

_Harry_

Daria could feel Draco's glare trying to burn its way through the note as he leaned over her shoulder to study it.

"Don't start," she sighed and closed her eyes, anticipating his next words.

"What's Pothead thinking? That he can buy your love with some crappy muggle technology?" he spat.

"He's just being nice," she argued, "He's still my friend."

"Oh he wants to be a lot more than your friend," Draco growled, "Have you forgotten that he told the whole bloody school that he nailed you?"

"I didn't say I've forgiven him! Honestly, how shallow do you think I am? If either of you thinks that just because he got me some shiny new speakers that I'm going to go running back him then you're both mad. Stop being so jealous," she hissed as she unpackaged her new speakers.

"Jealous?" he growled. "What do I possibly have to be jealous of? That Scarhead bought you a new piece of crappy muggle technology? It only looks elaborate compared to your very few other gifts because they could have easily been fished out of a garbage bin."

He closed his eyes and flinched as he felt the palm of her hand collide with his cheek.

"You spoiled brat! For your information, I don't get very many presents because I don't send very many, but I'm sure that's still more than you send. My mommy doesn't buy presents for me to get people with my daddy's money," she shouted, "And don't you dare turn your pointy nose up at my gifts. They may not be as garish as all of yours but they are worth far more. Mrs. Weasley has seven children, not including all their friends that she has basically adopted like Hermione, Harry, and me. Yet she still makes time to knit me, the daughter of a murderous death eater, a jumper because she wants to make sure I feel important. Ron may not have very much money to spend but at least he tried. He took the time to figure out something that he knew I would like because he's my best friend and knows everything about me, including what kind of candy I prefer. Hermione bought me quills because she knows me well enough to remember that I can't keep track of anything, especially something a minuscule as a feather. She also remembered that I prefer peacock quills because she takes the time to learn these little things about me. As far as Harry goes, yes his gift may have been a little flashier than they usually are but that's because he knew I would enjoy it. And what about you? If you had decided to get me a gift, would you have even known what to get me? Or would you just have had Narcissa pick up something expensive and shiny."

He glared at her for several minutes as he muddled through her rant, trying to figure out the best way to respond to her outburst. He decided to start with her last jab at him. "I'll have you know I picked out your necklace myself. My mother wasn't even with me."

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah? And how did you pay for it? Does daddy give you an allowance or do you have to beg for your spending money?"

"Why the fuck are you being so hateful toward me this morning?" he snapped, his upper lip twitching in agitation.

"Because you're sitting there patronizing my friends and I don't appreciate it," she snapped. "I won't tolerate that, especially from you."

He held his glare for a few more moments before he turned away dejectedly. "Do you not like the necklace?"

She sighed in annoyance that that was all he had gotten out of her rant. "Of course I like it. Otherwise I wouldn't have been wearing it for the past bloody year. But you wouldn't know what a gift from the heart was if it came up and bit you in the ass. There's more to life than money and possessions, and not every one is a fortunate as you."

He ran his tongue over his teeth as he continued to stare at the floor. "I should have gotten you something this year."

Daria scoffed and rolled her eyes. "I think you completely missed the point of this conversation."

He shot her an annoyed look before he looked into her eyes and his featured softened slightly. "Is there anything you wanted for Christmas that you didn't get?"

"I already got exactly what I wanted," she smiled as she laced her fingers with his, "I've always wanted a spoiled rich blond boy."

He smirked as he squeezed her hand. "I can't decide if you're annoying or charming." His eyes trailed up and down her body for a moment, "I'd kiss you but you look far too much like a Weasley in that sweater and I just can't bring myself to that level."

She rolled her eyes before grabbing the hem of her jumper and pulling it off. As soon as it was over her head his lips collided with hers as he laid her down onto the floor. Daria smiled against his lips as she felt the flutters in her stomach start spreading to the rest of her body and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer.

She moaned slightly as his teeth found her neck and she ran her fingers through his snowy blond hair. "I can't decide if I love you or hate you."

He smirked against her skin. "I love you too."

She breathed a light chuckle before his lips were back on hers.

"I need to get back to my essay," she sighed as she pulled back from his kiss.

He groaned as he sat back up. "Fine. But as soon as you're done I'd like you to remove the rest of those clothes."

She smirked but couldn't hide the blush in her cheeks as she sat back down at his desk, picking up her new speakers on the way. She connected her ipod and hit shuffle, smiling when 'We Are Young' by fun. came on. She hadn't played it for a while because it reminded her too much of the past.

She glanced back at Draco who was also smiling. "Do you remember the time we danced to this song?"

"Yep," she nodded, "Every one of them."

"That was when I knew," he started thoughtfully, "I knew I couldn't stay away from you."

Daria raised her eyebrow. "Are you talking about last Christmas?"

He shook his head.

"Oh. You mean the time in the potions classroom?" she grinned at the memory of Draco dancing with a mop and Goyle unconscious on the floor.

More head shaking.

"No. The first time we danced to it... two summers ago," he explained.

She scoffed. "Yeah? Well you had a funny way of showing it. I was picking gravel out of my hands for a week."

"Well I couldn't have you suspecting anything, now could I? I had an image to uphold," he chuckled as he stood up to lean against the wall next to her chair. "You're different than any other girl I've ever known. You're honest, you don't care what people think about you, you're witty... although I'm still not sure if that's a good thing or not. Plus you looked awfully bewitching in blue."

Daria felt her cheeks turning red but continued to hold his gaze. "Is that when you first started liking me?"

"No, actually," he smirked, "You caught my eye second year when you made the Gryffindor team."

Daria smiled as she remembered her first game against Slytherin. "You mean after you wiped out while going after the snitch and I landed to check on you?"

He nodded stiffly. "That is until Potter nearly got himself killed by a bludger and Lockhart took out his bone."

"It was fifth year," she stated, hoping to disrupt his jealous thoughts. She saw that she had succeeded when he eyebrows relaxed and he perked up a little. "What?" he looked at her in confusion.

"Fifth year," she repeated, "That's when I realized you weren't actually evil, just annoying, and my view of you changed."

He furrowed his eyebrows and it was obvious that he didn't remember anything of consequence between them in fifth year.

"It was when you were on Umbridge's Inquisitorial Squad. You caught me coming out of the room of requirement once but you didn't say anything. You just acted like you hadn't seen me and kept walking. You could have taken me straight to Umbridge but you didn't," she explained as she absently rubbed the scar on her hand from the detention the DA had received after being found out.

"Well of course I didn't say anything. Did you think I was going to hand you over and let that nut job torture you?" he rolled his eyes.

Daria shrugged. "It seemed like something you'd do at the time."

His eyes shot back to hers and she thought she could detect a flash of disappointment, but he quickly hid it. "I've been lying to you for five years."

She furrowed her eyebrows. "What are you talking about?"

"My parents only told me to ask you to dance once," he smiled, "The other times I just told you they had to get you to do it."

She felt her jaw drop but quickly turned it up into a grin. "Are you kidding me? Why you conniving little ferret."

He smiled smugly as he leaned over to turn the song up a few notches. "Will you dance with me?"

"No," she shot, "You've already tricked me into dancing with three too many times."

"Well then, lets make it one more," he smirked as he grabbed her hand a pulled her up from the desk. "Who knows when we'll get the chance again?"

She sighed dramatically but wrapped one arm around his neck and he began to lead her to their song.

"So if you're so convinced that your friends know you better than I do, then why don't you tell me about yourself?" he suggested as they swayed to the music.

"Like what?" she raised her eyebrow.

He thought for a moment. "What do you want to do after you graduate Hogwarts?"

Daria smiled mischievously when she decided on her answer. "Well, I aspire to be a deejay at Malfoy Manor."

He furrowed his eyebrows momentary as he tried to remember the beginning of that conversation and chuckled slightly when he placed it. "But then people might actually think Malfoy's have decent tastes in music."

She grinned as he leaned forward and stole her lips before backing them to toward the bed.

"You can finish your essay later," he breathed between kisses.

She nodded as he pulled her shirt over her head before crashing his lips back into hers.

**A/N: Wow! So this chapter was way longer than I intended it to be. I'd only planned on making Christmas a little tidbit at the beginning but the ideas just kept coming so I just went with it. This was supposed to be the last chapter before break ends but it appears you will be getting an extra chapter with just Draco and Daria. Hope you enjoyed it and be sure to leave me some good reviews ;)**


	55. The one where Daria's weak in the knees

**A/N: Personally, I feel this chapter goes well the 'Daylight' by Maroon 5 playing in the background. You should definitely try it.**

Daria and Draco both sat in the common room, on opposite couches, reading. Daria was re-reading her favorite muggle vampire romance novel and Draco was thumbing through a quidditch magazine.

Today was the last day of Christmas break and tomorrow the rest of the student body would be returning, putting a huge strain on their relationship. Not only would they no longer be able to be seen within ten feet of each other but classes and prefect duties would soon take over most of their free time.

They hadn't really discussed what would happen after break ended but she hoped that they would be able to find a way to sneak around, away from the watchful eyes of their peers.

She heard Draco shift slightly in his seat, making Kiki just off of his lap in annoyance before she trotted back to Daria's room.

Daria didn't look up from her book at his disturbance but could feel his gaze on her.

"I love you," he stated as he continued to stare at her.

She smiled and looked up from the book on her lap into his stormy blue eyes. "I love you too."

He stood up and walked toward her before he sat back down on the edge of the ottoman in front of her. Daria closed her book and set it beside her so he could command her attention.

"I'm really going to miss you after today," he frowned.

"Don't worry. We'll figure out someway to see each other," she reassured with a weak smile and grabbed his hand, giving it a comforting squeeze.

"All I want is to be with you. I want the world to know that you're mine and I'm yours," he sighed as he absently stroked the top of her hand with his thumb.

"You don't know how much I wish for that," she whispered as she closed her eyes, trying to fight back tears. She imaged what a world where she was allowed to love a death eater would be like. She opened her eyes when she heard him shifting around and furrowed her eyebrows when she realized Draco was now kneeling in front of her.

She parted her lips to question him but Draco halted her words as he stared into her eyes. "Will you marry me?"

Daria felt her throat grow dry as her eyes widened and she desperately willed herself to say something. Anything.

"What?" she breathed as she cocked her head to one side and continued to stare at him in disbelief.

"I want to be with you forever, Daria. Will you marry me?" he repeated. She searched his face and realized that he was completely calm and collected, obviously not about to start hyperventilating like she was.

"Draco... we're still in school... and you're supposed to be the next Dark Lord... and everyone thinks were mortal enemies... and one of us is going to destroy the other... and... and..." she sputtered frantically.

He chuckled lightly at her nervousness and placed a kiss on her hand that he was still holding on to. "We'll not right now. But someday, if the prophecy doesn't work out and we can be together, I want you to marry me. I love you," he finished as he continued to stare lovingly into her eyes.

Daria looked back into his icy blue eyes and melted. All she wanted was to be with him, forever. And she still hoped that someday, they could be.

"I love you too," she whispered as a small smile crept onto her lips. "Alright. Someday, after all this is over, if we're both still alive, I'll marry you."

"You make it sound so realistic," he scoffed.

"That's because the odds aren't in our favor," Daria sighed dismally.

"I know what will cheer you up," Draco grinned, "The ring. Girls love shiny things."

Daria scoffed and rolled her eyes. "A ring? Draco I can't where a ring. That'd be a little obvious."

"Well you didn't think I'd propose to you without a ring did you? But don't worry, you'll like this one," he argued as he pulled off his Slytherin ring and placed it in her hand. "I'm sorry it's not much. I wanted to get you a diamond but it turns out that I, myself, am actually quite poor, and I couldn't exactly ask my father for money to buy an engagement ring for a halfblood Gryffindor who is going to defeat me. Someday, you'll wear the Malfoy engagement ring, but for now this will have to do."

"It's perfect," Daria smiled as she examined the ring, "But I can't wear this. I think my friends would notice if had a Slytherin ring on my finger."

"Ah but I have the remedy for that problem," he replied as he pulled his wand out and pointed it at the ring in her hand.

With a wave of his wand, he transfigured the ring into a smaller, feminine one. It had a slender band with a silver star and the star had a familiar looking gem in the middle of it. Daria held it up to examine it and realized that it was the same color as Draco's and Kiki's eyes.

"How's that for a heartfelt gift," Draco smiled smugly. "This way, even when we're apart, you'll always remember those nights in the Astronomy Tower."

"I don't think I could ever forget them," Daria smiled as she felt the tears threatening to spill again.

Draco slid the ring onto her right ring finger and preformed a sizing spell so it would fit. "You're friends, and the rest of the world for that matter, might not take too kindly to you wearing this. So at least if it's on your right hand, its significance won't be discovered," he explained. Daria was glad that he thought of such things and made a mental note to make up some bogus story about where she got the ring incase her friends asked when they got back.

"I love you, Draco," she breathed as a tear ran down her cheek before she placed both of her hands on his cheeks to pull him closer.

"I love you too, Daria," he smiled before he closed the remaining space between them.

Draco moved himself to the spot beside her and wrapped his arms tightly around her before pulling her onto his lap.

Daria felt her stomach doing jumping jacks and her brain was running in overdrive but she had never felt more complete.

Draco flicked his tongue against her mouth and she immediately parted her lips to grant him entry. Their tongues danced together as she ran her nails through his snow-soft hair and adjusted her legs so she had one on either side of him.

He ran his fingers down her spine, causing her to shiver at his electrifying touch. She pressed her body closer to his to try to add to the friction that was being created between them as his tongue continued to glide against hers.

She sighed into his mouth as his eager hands slid under the back of her shirt and she could feel his touch against her bare skin. He swiftly pulled her shirt the rest of the way up before pulling it over her head.

Daria started unbuttoning his shirt as his eyes wandered over her exposed abdomen. Draco undid the last few buttons for her and shrugged his shirt off before he grabbed her face and greedily snatched her lips back.

Draco ran his fingers up her cheekbones and into her crimson curls. She released a timid moan into his mouth as she started running her hands over his chest and abs, stirring up a familiar, lustful twinge in his stomach.

He ran his fingers over every inch of her skin before his hand landed the back of her bra. With practiced fingers, he unclasped her bra with one hand while the other grazed the length of her thigh.

Daria pulled her bra off the rest of the way and tossed it to the floor. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him close again, and sighed at the feeling of his hard chest against her bare breasts.

She wanted to live in this moment forever. She didn't want to ever have to give him up. She wanted all of him, forever and for always, no matter where this war took them.

Daria gasped, as she was broken out of her thoughts by her back colliding with the couch cushions. Draco was now hovering over top of her as his mouth moved to her neck to tease her with his teeth.

She sucked in a deep breath of air as he nibbled at the skin below her ear, and lolled her head to the side so he could access it easier. She could feel his fingers under her navel as he fumbled with the button on her jeans.

"Shouldn't we move to one of the bedrooms?" Daria managed to whisper as he unbuttoned her pants and unzipped the zipper.

Draco shook his head against her neck and she could feel his lips turn up into a smirk. "This is the last chance I have to shag you in the common room and I couldn't possibly deny myself the satisfaction of knowing that Potter will soon be sitting on the couch that I fucked you on."

Daria rolled her eyes. "You're so vulgar."

He chuckled and she shivered slightly as his hot breath hit again her throat. "Sorry, but my romantic quota is exhausted for the day. Plus my brain turns to mush whenever you're shirtless. Maybe after I've shagged you senseless I can come up with a better reason for not wanting to relocate."

Daria felt the throbbing between her thighs intensify as he pulled away from her and started sliding her jeans and panties off together but couldn't resist the opportunity for sarcasm.

"Oh, Draco," she gushed in her fake high pitch voice, "You sure do know how to make a girl weak in the knees."

"You want me to make you weak in the knees, huh?" he smirked as he spread her bare legs apart, "I think I can manage that."

Before her brain could comprehend what he was doing, his mouth was between her thighs. She breathed a surprised gasp as he ran his tongue along her moist slit. She moaned loudly and dug her fingernails into the couch cushions as he tongue lapped at her clit, over and over again. He continued to do wonderful and mind-blowing things to her body with his mouth, causing her to arch her back and writhe below him.

After a few minutes he pulled away, looking thoroughly satisfied with himself. He pulled himself back up and rested his forehead against hers. "Are you knees weak enough yet?" he smirked cockily.

The only answer she could muster was to latch onto his bottom lip and start unfastening his trousers. His smirk grew at her actions before he helped her remove his pants and boxers as he intensified the kiss with matched passion.

Daria felt him positioning himself between her thighs and instinctively locked her legs around his waist, pulling him closer as he took her.

Draco groaned against her lips as she dragged him in and felt her quivering below him with those first few pumps of his hips.

His face moved to the crook of her neck and he sucked greedily at her flesh. She let out a choked whimper as he increased the pace, and he could feel her fingernails digging into his shoulder blades as she rocked her hips against his.

Her moans continued to grow in proximity and volume until the room echoed with her screams of pleasure as he continued to pound into her. She squirmed beneath him as she neared her peak and he slowed down his thrusts, switching to longer deeper ones to try to prolong her rapture.

He felt her grip on him tighten as her muscles went tight and rigid around him, then she shuttered and released a strangled cry as the heat consumed her. He could feel her heart pounding against his chest and waited until her trembling had subsided before he pumped into her a few more times and found his own release. He groaned into her neck and she absently stroked his tasseled platinum hair as their pants filled the air.

Draco collapsed beside her and wrapped his arms protectively around her waist so she wouldn't fall off the couch as they both tried to catch their breath.

Daria turned to snuggle her face against his bare chest and his strong arms pulled her closer to him. She could her his heartbeat drumming against her cheek as her eyelids began to flutter with exhaustion, but something tugged at the back of her mind that had been plaguing her since they had reunited. She heard her voice crack slightly as she willed herself to ask the question she knew she wouldn't like the answer to. "After you leave Hogwarts... are you going to find someone else?"

She felt his arms stiffen around her as he mulled over her question.

"No," he stated firmly, "You'll be my only lover."

"But who knows how long this war will separate us. It could be years," she sighed. Not that she wanted him to shack up with Parkinson but she couldn't imagine him ever being alone for that long.

"It doesn't matter," he argued, "You're my fiancé now and someday you'll be my wife. I have no intentions of being unfaithful to you."

'_Wife...'_ The word rolled around in Daria's head for a moment before she smiled up and him and planted a peck on his lips.

"Someday," she whispered dreamily before she rested her head back onto his chest and let her body give into the fatigue.

**A/N: I know, I know... Updates have been slower lately but I'm trying to get them up as soon a possible. I wouldn't say I have writers block because I know exactly what's going to happen in each chapter, its just that damn filler that's the hold up =/**

**Next chapter Daria's friends return and they get some time together while Draco wonders off for some guy time with his fellow Slytherins, so keep any eye out for it**

**Thanks for all the reviews, I love hearing them. After I publish I refresh my email like every 30 seconds looking for one so be sure to leave me some because the more reviews I get, the faster I write ;)**


	56. The one with all the tension

Daria sighed dreamily as she buried her face deeper into Draco's chest, trying to block out the sunlight. She shifted slightly to try to get comfortable again but her head immediately shot up when she realized she wasn't laying on a mattress, but something leather.

"Shit," she muttered when she realized they had fallen asleep on the couch and glanced up at the clock. It was already noon and the rest of the students would be returning soon... very soon.

Daria flung the blanket Draco had conjured off of her and hopped up to start collecting her clothes.

"Draco. Get up!" she shouted as she slid her underwear and jeans back on.

He groaned and covered his head with the blanket.

"Draco!" she scolded, "You have to get up. The other prefects should be back any time now."

Draco immediately shot up and looked to the clock.

"Fuck," he hissed before he also got up and started putting his clothes back on.

After Daria had pulled her shirt back on, she pulled out her wand and dismissed the blanket before heading toward the bathroom. She stopped by her room first to grab her school uniforms for tonight's feast before going back down the hall to go take a shower.

As she bustled down the hallway she passed Draco as he groggily made his way to his own room and he grabbed her arm, bringing her to a halt, before smashing her up against the hallway wall.

"Draco..." she half moaned, half groaned. "They'll be back any moment and I need to take a shower."

He didn't listen as he planted kisses along her collarbone. "I could join you, if you want."

She rolled her eyes. "Cause that wouldn't be hard to explain or anything. 'Oh, hey Harry. The taps in the other showers were broken so Malfoy and I decided just to share one'."

"Potter," he groaned, "Why couldn't he just stay gone?"

"Will I get to see you tonight?" she asked, trying to steer the subject away from her ex.

Draco shook his head as he removed his lips from her neck and looked up to her face. "I was going to head down to the Slytherin common room after dinner to hang out with Blaise and Theo."

Daria frowned slightly at the news. "Since when are you friends with Nott anyways? I never thought you two were close."

Draco shrugged. "He already had his mark when Blaise and I found out we were going to get ours. So we all have something in common. I don't think anyone else in the school had been branded yet," he replied as he stifled a yawn, "I'm going back to bed. Maybe I'll sneak into your room after I get back in tonight."

"I'd like that," she smiled.

He leaned in and brushed his lips against hers as he pulled her closer. She hummed contently as she wrapped her arms around his neck to deepen the kiss.

"Oi, Hermione! Can you walk any slower?" they heard a familiar red head call from the common room entrance downstairs.

Daria eyes widened as she quickly pushed Draco away but he just smirked and gave her a final peck on the lips before turning on his heel and shuffling toward his bedroom.

She heard the latch on his door click just as her friends appeared at the top of the stairs.

"Daria!" Hermione squealed as she enveloped Daria into a bone-crushing hug.

"Hermione!" Daria gasped before Hermione released her, letting her breathe again.

"Oh, I've been so worried about you, here all by yourself!" Hermione gushed, "No one should have to spend Christmas alone."

Daria chuckled and nervously rubbed the back of her neck. "Honestly, Hermione, it was fine. I had a great Christmas all by myself."

Daria smiled reassuringly and Hermione looked at her unsurely for a moment before Ron butted in.

"We've missed you, is all," Ron smiled as he gave Daria a one armed hug. "It just wasn't the same without you."

"Thanks, Ron. I missed you guys too," Daria grinned as he released her.

Daria's eyes moved to Harry as he nervously shuffled closer to her, his eyes fixed on the ground.

"I missed you too, Harry," Daria offered as she reached to give him a hug.

He awkwardly hugged her back before mumbling something about needing to unpack and scurrying off to his bedroom.

Daria frowned as she watched him leave.

"Don't worry about him," Ron reassured, "He'll come around. He hasn't shut up about you all break."

Daria felt her stomach drop as she played her words to Harry over in her head. She hoped he didn't take it as anything other than she had missed hanging out with him, as friends. Perhaps she should have thought it through more, or not said anything at all. But Harry was one of her best friends and she hoped they could get past this.

Ron and Hermione went to their own rooms to unpack, so Daria grabbed a book and her ipod and sat in the common room reading until it was time for dinner.

Draco had either decided to sleep all day or desperately wanted to avoid his fellow prefects, because he didn't leave his room the whole time she was in the common room. She didn't see him again until her and her friends entered the Great Hall for the feast.

Her eyes shot to the head of platinum hair at the Slytherin table as soon as she was through the doors. His back was turned toward her and she was glad he had taken her advice. She couldn't afford to have his piercing eyes on her this evening, especially with all the tension between her and Harry. She was sure to sit facing away from him as well, lest her sinful eyes betray their secret to her friends.

Daria and Harry both sat in awkward silence for the entire dinner. Hermione talked the whole time and Ron added a few sentences here and there between bites. The whole thing was extremely uncomfortable, even with Hermione prattling on about classes and homework.

After dinner, Draco followed his fellow Slytherins back to the common room. He didn't like hanging around the prefect dorms on good days, but with all the uneasiness between his witch and his nemesis, he'd rather be crucio'd than have to be there today.

To his immense misfortune, Pansy was in the dungeons waiting for him. He groaned and rolled his eyes when he spotted her and took a seat in a wing-backed chair as far away from her as possible.

"Evening Draco," she smiled slyly as she looked him over.

"Pansy," he nodded in her direction but quickly turned his attention back to Blaise and Theo as they sat down on the couch across from him.

"You know what I was just thinking about?" Pansy started, oblivious to his intolerance of her.

"What?" he growled as he reluctantly turned his annoyed eyes back to her. Pothead and Daria filling the prefect common room with awkward silence was starting to look very tempting... but Pansy could just follow him there too.

"Our first kiss," she started dreamily. Draco heard Theo and Blaise both groan in unison. "Do you remember it?"

Daria and Scarhead's drama definitely looked like Disneyland compared to this fresh hell.

Draco sighed in agitation and contemplated stunning her and throwing her out into the hallway. "Of course I do. You threw your snout right at me second year."

Pansy furrowed her eyebrows and frowned. "Second year? What are you talking about? It was third year, while you were in the hospital."

Draco rolled his eyes. For a girl who was supposed to be obsessed with him, she certainly had a shit memory. "No, it was right here in the common room. Just ask Crabbe and Goyle, they were there."

Pansy opened and closed her mouth several times, trying to form words with it before she shook her head in disbelief and quickly left the common room.

"Thank Merlin," Draco sighed in relief as he turned back to his friends once more. "Thought she'd never leave."

Blaise snickered at his misery. "Oh, Draco. I'll never forget our first kiss," he chuckled in a fake high-pitched voice.

Theo snorted loudly as the two of them continued laughing. Draco rolled his eyes at the pair. "Shut up."

"Speaking of birds," Theo started excitedly, "You'll never who I scored over break."

"The Patil twins?" Draco offered. Theo's face fell slightly.

"No," he answered disappointedly, but quickly regained his smile as he continued. "But close."

"You find another set of twins?" Blaise asked, quirking an eyebrow.

Theo's face fell again. "No."

"I give up then," Draco shrugged, "Who?"

"Both Greengrasses," Theo grinned.

"At the same time?" Blaise questioned, his mouth agape.

"No," Theo sighed. "But they were both on the same day."

"Wait a minute," Draco furrowed his eyebrows, "Aren't you sort of dating the blond one?"

"Yeah," Theo shrugged, "So?"

"So? Does she know you slept with her little sister?" Draco cocked an eyebrow.

"Of course not," Theo shot, "And she's not going to."

"Cause girls don't talk about _everything_ with each other or anything," Draco rolled his eyes. "I'm sure the little under aged witch, who you shouldn't have even been fanaticizing about will keep it a secret. I just hope you had the good sense to use protection."

"Why does it matter to you?" Theo scoffed. "If I recall correctly, your track record is just as bad as mine."

"I just don't want Mr. Greengrass to murder you when he finds out you deflowered both of his daughters," Draco sighed, "Then it'd just be Blaise and I again, and he's starting to get annoying."

"Hey!" Blaise objected, but the other two Slytherins ignored him.

"Well what about you then?" Theo pried, "You've been here for two weeks without Parkinson. Did you score any? Or are you just jealous that I did?"

"I spent most of my break sleeping," Draco replied casually.

"Yeah?" Theo rolled his eyes, "With whom?"

"No one," Draco retorted as he slouched back against his chair.

"Riight," Blaise drawled sarcastically. "Was she that much of a dog? Did you stoop so low that you're too humiliated to tell your best friends?"

Draco shook his head and shot his eyes up to the ceiling. "I'm not even going to dignify that with an answer."

Blaise and Theo exchanged an amused look.

"So that's a 'yes'," Blaise chuckled. "How could you possibly do worse than Parkinson?"

"It was probably a mudblood," Theo smirked, "Maybe the one that follows Potter around? You seem to be pretty fond of things that belong to him."

Draco sneered. "Don't insult me, Nott. Granger wasn't even here for break."

Theo snorted loudly. "You would know."

Draco shot him a glare and luckily Theo decided to change the subject.

"What about you Blaise? Do you do anyone over the break?" Theo asked.

Blaise shook his head and sighed. "Nope. I got to spend my break with my mother and her new husband. It was barrels of fun."

"How many husbands does that make for her?" Draco asked with an amused smirk.

"Nine," Blaise grumbled.

"It's a miracle you're still an only child," Theo chuckled making Blaise punch him hard in the arm.

Blaise let out a hiss as he grabbed his left arm in pain, immediately after it came in contact with Theo.

Theo furrowed his eyebrows at Blaise. "He's not calling is he? I don't feel anything."

Blaise shook his head. "No, it's just from the impact."

Theo looked even more confused.

"I know what you mean," Draco sighed, "The other day I brushed mine up against my belt buckle and it felt like someone had poured acid on my arm."

"What are you two on about?" Theo pressed, "It's only supposed to hurt when he calls. Yours must be defective."

"Mine's always burning," Draco grumbled.

"Mine always feels like someone is performing a stinging jinx on my arm," Blaise mumbled, "And it itches like a muggle fucker."

Draco nodded his head in agreement.

"You two are a bunch of pussies," Theo rolled his eyes.

"Is you're inflamed?" Blaise ignored Theo.

Draco shot his eyes around the empty common room before he carefully rolled up his sleeve to reveal his red, irritated dark mark.

"Bloody hell," Theo muttered.

Blaise also pulled up his sleeve to show his dark mark, which was in a similar condition as Draco's. Theo's on the other hand was completely healed, surrounded by healthy looking skin.

"I don't know what you two did," Theo started, "But that definitely can't be good."

* * *

Daria plopped down on one of the leather prefect couches next to Ron and Hermione. Harry sat on the couch opposite them and Daria tried to keep her mind off of Draco's words from last night about that couch.

"So, how was everyone's break?" Daria asked, trying to stir up conversation.

"I don't know about everyone else, but mine was bloody miserable," Ron answered bluntly. "Hermione took us to the muggle world and of course dad insisted on tagging along. He spent an hour questioning a sales man about everything in the store before the guy finally had to leave because his shift was over."

"That doesn't sound too bad," Daria chuckled, "I wish I could have come with you guys. I love journeying to muggle territory. They are just so fascinating."

"Oh that wasn't even the bad part," Ron continued, "The bad part was Harry moping around my house for two weeks while Fred kept dropping subtle hints to have me remind you that he's single."

Harry shot him a glare. "I was not moping and I don't recall Fred doing anything of the sort."

"Oh that reminds me!" Ron exclaimed, "Fred sent you a present, Daria. It's in Hermione's bag. Something to 'diffuse the tension'."

Hermione sighed before reluctantly pulling a bottle of fire whiskey with a bow tied around it out of her beaded bag.

Daria grinned widely. "Freddy's got my back. This is why he's my best friend."

"I thought I was your best friend," Ron pouted.

"Not today you're not," Daria chuckled as she snatched the bottle from Hermione and summoned four glasses from the nearby snack bar. "But don't worry. I'll share."

"Just moving your way through the Weasley family, huh?" Harry grumbled quietly but Daria was able to catch it.

"For your information, I've only dated one Weasley," she glared, "And Fred and I only dated for like a month in third year. I hardly think that makes me the family bicycle."

"Well he obvious still has a thing for you," Harry scoffed.

"And what if he does?" Daria furthered. "That's no concern of yours who likes me and who doesn't."

"Who wants a drink?" Ron asked, trying to change the topic.

Everyone accepted a drink from Ron, even Harry and Hermione.

"So tell us about your break Daria," Hermione smiled as Daria downed her first shot and poured herself another.

"It was good," Daria nodded, "I slept and read through most of it."

"That sounds incredibly boring," Ron sighed.

"It was fun," Daria argued, "It was nice to be here by myself. It was so quiet I could actually here myself think."

Hermione eyed her suspiciously but bit back whatever she had planned to say.

"I bet it was really boring without us here," Ron stated with a playful grin.

"No, actually. I wish I could get rid of you lot more often," Daria chuckled.

Hermione finally finished chewing on her tongue. "Daria. Can I talk to you alone for a minute?" she blurted.

Daria furrowed her eyebrows and hesitantly followed Hermione up the stairs to Hermione's room.

As soon as Hermione closed the door she turned to face Daria with a frown. "Why are you lying?"

"What are talking about Hermione?" Daria asked, nervously tucking her hair behind her ear.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about. Are you incapable of ever telling the truth when it comes to Malfoy?" Hermione retorted. "My bedroom door was open while I was unpacking and I saw him come out of his room to take a shower, looking like he had just woken up. He was here all break, wasn't he?"

Daria huffed in defeat and looked anywhere but at Hermione. "He was. But he was in his room most of the time so we didn't really see much of each other." Only half of that was a lie. Draco had spent most of his time in his room; only he had been with her.

"I Don't know what you two are up to, but you need to stop it," Hermione scolded. "Harry told me about you having a mission as well. You need to stay focused on it and not lose sight of what is important. We're at war, Daria. This is no time for school yard romances."

Daria glared at her for several long moments as she chewed over her words. "First of all," Daria growled, "There is nothing going on between me and Malfoy. Second, I don't even know what my bloody mission is even supposed to be, so how can I possibly focus on it? And third, do you think I don't know that we're at war? I know that better than anyone because this war is the reason Malfoy and I broke up. So I don't need any lectures from you."

Hermione nodded stiffly in acceptance of Daria's words. "You should talk to Dumbledore. Maybe he can give you some insight."

"I might," Daria sighed, "But for now, I'd like to go back downstairs and not talk about boys anymore."

Daria and Hermione both walked back down to the common room in silence. They interrupted what looked to be a very intense conversation between Ron and Harry as they took their seats next to Ron. Daria was sure to down a few more shots before turning back to her friends. Tonight was supposed to be a fun evening, not a stressful one. She pleaded to Godric Gryffindor that no one would bring up her love life for the rest of the evening.

"Daria," Harry started, causing her to turn her eyes away from her glass and up to him. "I'm sorry I didn't defend you in front of Seamus. I should have denied it."

Daria nodded. "Yes, you should have. But I forgive you, Harry. I don't want something as stupid as a rumor to destroy our seven year friendship."

"So do you want to get back together?" he mumbled as he ran his fingers through his messy hair.

Daria raised her hands in confusion and started looking around for a big neon sign she must have missed saying that she wanted to be more than friends. "I said I forgave you, Harry. Not that I wanted to snog you ever again."

"I said I was sorry, Daria. What more do you bloody want?" Harry demanded angrily.

"I want to be friends," Daria replied pointedly, "That's all I want from you."

"Well I don't think I can just be your friend anymore," Harry snapped as he stood up to leave.

"I'm sorry, Harry, but that's all I can give you," she sighed, her annoyed expression softening to a hurt one. "I'm sorry that's not enough anymore."

Daria didn't get to see his expression from her words because he quickly turned on his heel and tromped up the stairs to his room.

Daria took in a few deep breaths to calm her nerves before pouring herself another drink.

"Well that was fun," Ron commented, trying to ease the atmosphere.

Daria just groaned in response as she swirled the fire whiskey around in her glass. This evening had not gone as she had planned. Her relationships with Fred, Draco, and Harry had not been what she had planned on discussing with her friends.

"Come on, Ron," Hermione stated as she stood up from the couch, "Let's give Daria some alone time."

Ron sighed and reluctantly got up. "See you in the morning, Daria."

Daria gave them half of a wave as she continued to glare at her drink.

* * *

Draco shuffled into the common room around one in the morning with heavy eyelids. He mentally cursed himself for staying out with his friends so late when classes started back in the morning. He was so tired he almost didn't notice the red headed witch asleep on one of the couches with a fire whiskey bottle in her hand.

He glanced around at the other couches and chairs for her golden trio but they were nowhere to be found. Why had they just left her here?

He quickly tiptoed up the stairs and listened at each door for signs that anyone was still awake. He found none, only the light snores of his dorm mates.

Draco hurried back down the stairs and did a final sweep of the common room just in case, before he carefully picked up his sleeping witch and carried her up the stairs, back to her bedroom.

Daria stirred slightly as he gently laid her down on her bed and pulled the covers over her.

"Draco," she mumbled as her eyes fluttered open.

"I'm right here," he smiled as he reached down to brush a stray stand of hair from her face.

She smiled back as she grabbed his hand and held it with hers. "Will you stay?"

He chewed in his tongue as he contemplated her request for a moment. "Of course, love," he whispered before pulling off his robe and climbing in next to her. Surely between the two of them, they could find a way to sneak him out in the morning.

She sighed happily as he wrapped his arms around her and she laid her head on his chest. "I love you," she yawned as she closed her eyes, "You're the only thing that makes sense around here anymore."

He furrowed his eyebrows at her words. Surely he couldn't be something that made sense in her life. On the contrary, their relationship made no sense what so ever, it never had and it probably never would.

"I love you too," he sighed as he rested his cheek against the top of her head. "Goodnight, Daria."

The only response he received was Daria's rhythmic sleepy breathing.

A last minute idea crossed his mind and he pulled his wand out of his pocket and performed a locking charm on Daria's door before he drifted off to sleep beside her.

**A/N: So I originally planned for the chapter to be funny... no such luck lol. Whoops. That's what I get for not having a clue what to do with the dialog. Maybe the next chapter will prove to be more amusing but regardless I hope you enjoyed this one and all it's drama. Thanks so much for all the reviews I've been getting lately, they make me smile so please leave me some more and I'll try to get the next chapter up soon.**

**Added note: You can find pictures of Daria's engagement ring on my profile, for anyone who is interested.**


	57. The one where Daria is cranky

Daria smacked her hand against her nightstand aimlessly as she tried to turn her screeching alarm clock off. She finally found the right button and rolled back over to try to resume sleeping.

She immediately noticed that the space next to her was empty, but still warm and held the lingering scent of Draco's cologne. It had been two weeks since she had woken up alone and even though she could only vaguely remember Draco carrying her to her room last night, she still didn't like waking up without him.

Daria sat up in bed and her hands instantly flew up to her spinning head, the effects of last night's fire whiskey catching up with her. She groaned as she sleepily rubbed her eyes and climbed out of bed.

She peeled off yesterday's robes and pulled on her bathrobe before she staggered out of her room, still clutching her head with one hand. She dragged her feet down the hallway to the co-ed bathroom, hoping that a shower would help with her pounding headache.

When she pulled the door open, her eyes immediately shot to the head of blond hair in front of her. Draco was standing over one of the sinks, shaving his chin. He shot her a quick glance in the mirror but otherwise ignored her entrance because Pansy was at the sink next to him, and Hermione and the two Ravenclaw prefects were a few sinks away.

"You look like hell, Mudblood," Pansy snickered as Daria shuffled toward one of the showers.

"For the last time Pansy, her name is half-blood. She's mudblood," Draco grumbled, motioning toward Hermione. "Get it right, or start making up your own nicknames for them instead of taking mine."

"Oh but then we might actually end up with original pet names," Daria pouted sarcastically.

Draco shot her an annoyed look but didn't respond as she hopped into the shower and closed the curtain. She pulled off her robe and hung it up on the shower rod before she turned the hot water on and begged her shower gel to help with her pounding headache.

After her body was cleansed, she poured some of her shampoo into her hand and started messaging her scalp. It helped a little with the pain but the room was still spinning.

"Daria?" she heard Harry's unmistakable voice call as he entered the bathroom.

She groaned under her breath and tried to make her voice sound perkier that she felt. "Morning Harry."

"Hey, I was wondering if I could talk to you for a minute," he asked and it sounded like he was standing right outside her shower stall.

"I have nothing to say to you," she retorted, "But if you'd like to talk to me then I'll do my best to listen."

"Could we go somewhere a little more private? I don't particularly want everyone one in the dorm knowing our business," he sighed.

"Oh don't worry. I'm sure they all already know all about our business," Daria replied snottily, "And I'm a little busy at the moment so if you want to talk you can do it here."

She heard him groan in annoyance and didn't think he was going to respond but after a moment she heard his voice again. "I'm sorry about last night. I just didn't expect that answer. I'd hoped that once break was over we could work all this out and I really wish that you would give me another chance."

If Daria hadn't been busy being deliriously happy with Draco, she would have given Harry another chance. He was a good guy and she hated to hurt him like this. But, as it were, she was in love with someone else, and could only offer Harry her friendship.

"I'm sorry too, Harry," Daria sighed as she rinsed the shampoo out of her hair and wrung it out with her hands. "But as I said last night, friendship is all I have to give you."

Silence.

"Harry?" Daria started, wondering if he had left the bathroom.

"There's someone else isn't there," he hissed, "That's why you don't want to get back together with me. You've found another man."

Daria took a deep breath to try to stop herself from screaming at him before she turned off the water, slipped her robe back on, and pulled the shower curtain back.

She contorted her face into the most threatening glare she could muster as she stepped out of the shower, right beside where he was standing.

"You're not a man. You're just an arrogant boy!" she spat, "_Of course_, the only reason I wouldn't want to date The Chosen One must be because I'm bedding someone else."

She could spot the reflection of Draco's eyes staring at her as he started brushing his teeth but she didn't let her eyes move away from Harry's.

"Merlin! You could cut the tension in here with a knife," Ron's voice broke Daria's staring contest with Harry as he entered the bathroom and headed toward one of the shower stalls. He stopped when he got to Daria and Harry to try to find out what was going on.

"You're awfully cranky this morning," Harry snapped. He's glare hadn't yielded due to Ron's arrival. "Are you PMSing or something?"

Ron instinctively took a step back as Daria clenched her fists and wished she had brought her wand with her. "You son of a bitch. Don't you dare try to write off the bad mood, that you put me in, on hormones."

"What did I miss?" Ron asked hesitantly as he looked back and forth between the pair.

Daria noticed that the Ravenclaws had had the good sense to quietly slip out while Pansy watched in amusement and Draco continued to try to ignore them while brushing his teeth.

"Harry here thinks that the only reason why I don't want to jump his bones is because I'm already screwing someone else," Daria snapped as her and Harry continued to glare daggers at each other.

Ron suddenly got the idea that a joke might help to remedy the situation. His heart might have been in the right place but Daria had no idea where the hell his brain had been. "Well, if she's sleeping with someone else, then maybe she's cranky because she's pregnant."

Daria hoped that no one else heard Draco nearly choking to death on his toothpaste.

"You're pregnant!" Harry roared and Daria wanted to start bashing his and Ron's heads against the wall.

"No!" Daria shouted angrily but the noise made her head start pounding again. "And I swear to Merlin, Harry, if another rumor starts spreading about me I'm going to kill you."

"Oh it's not him you have to worry about," Pansy smirked as she continued to pat Draco's back as he rinsed what little toothpaste, that hadn't gone to his stomach, out of his mouth.

"I'm going to have to obliviate her," Daria sighed, "Ron give me your wand."

Pansy's eyes widened before she grabbed her hairbrush and scurried out of the bathroom.

"I can't believe you'd let some guy get you pregnant," Harry sighed angrily.

"That's because I didn't!" Daria argued in vain because a second later the room started spinning again and she ran to the sink to empty her stomach of last night's fire whiskey.

After she had rinsed her mouth out with some water, she looked up at Harry's horrified reflection in the mirror before he stormed out of the bathroom. Hermione shot her a sympathetic look before she followed Harry, and Ron quickly hopped in the shower, lest Daria decide to beat the crap out of him.

Daria groaned and put her head in her hands as her headache worsened. She could feel Draco's piercing eyes on her.

"You know, toothpaste is poisonous in large amounts," she stated as she pulled out her toothbrush and looked up at him. He was still watching her apprehensively.

"I'm not pregnant," she sighed in annoyance, "Merlin! Can't anyone in this bathroom take a freaking joke?"

"Are you sure?" he pressed.

"This isn't the time or place to discuss this," she hissed as she shot a glance to the shower Ron was occupying.

He nodded curtly before he turned around and left the bathroom. Daria quickly brushed her teeth before she headed back to her room to get dressed for what was sure to be a long day.

* * *

Daria hurried down the halls to potions class after lunch. She would have liked to have a decent excuse for being late, but she had spent her entire lunch furiously writing the rest of her potions essay that had been assigned during break.

'_I should have just copied Draco's,'_ she mentally huffed as she ran down the dungeon corridors.

"You're late, Miss McVey," Snape drawled with a scowl, "Again."

"Sorry Professor," she sighed as she handed him her essay.

"10 points from Gryffindor for your tardiness," he smirked, "And 10 points from your essay for being overdue."

Daria sighed in exasperation before she trudged up to her seat next to Draco.

She sat down and pulled out a quill and parchment to take notes with while Snape continued to lecture about dittany. She propped her chin up on her hand and tried not to doze off from the sound of Snape's monotonous voice.

Daria heard Draco rustling with some papers beside her before he discreetly slid a slip of parchment over to her.

She glanced up at Snape, who's back was turned, and then looked to Harry, who appeared to be sleeping, before she subtly picked up the parchment and unfolded it.

_Are you sure?_

Daria rolled her eyes as she watched the words disappear before grabbing her quill to scribble a reply.

_Yes._

She slid the paper back to him and he quickly wrote something else before giving it back to her.

_How do you know?_

Daria dipped her quill into her ink jar before scratching out her response.

_Because I used the morning after charm every time._

_._

_But that's not 100% effective._

_._

_It's magic, Draco. Not science. You're confusing it with muggle birth control._

_._

_Well you could be saying the incantation wrong._

_._

_Or you could be overreacting. I think I know what's going on inside my body a little better than Ron does._

_._

_But what about this morning?_

Daria groaned under her breath and pressed down with her quill a little harder than was probably necessary as she wrote out her reply.

_Why is it that people think the only time a woman can throw up is when she's knocked up? I was, and still am, very hung over. That's it. You're demon spawn is not growing inside me._

She heard Draco scoff as he read her reply and a few second later he handed the note back to her.

_I'd still feel better if we could know for sure._

Daria chewed her lip as she debated whether or not she should humor him.

_If it'd get you off my case, I'll brew up a testing potion._

_._

_Yes, it would._

_._

_Fine. But it will take a few days to make, so you're just going to have to believe me over one of your nemeses until then._

Draco nodded his head in response before he pulled out his wand and turned the note to ash with a nonverbal spell.

He leaned a little closer to her so she could hear him. "I'll try to get nick you some hangover potion after class," he whispered.

Daria smiled up at him and laced her fingers with his under the table before they turned back to Snape's boring lecture.

**A/N: I definitely did not plan on getting this one done so fast but I've had this chapter planned since I first started writing the story, so the words just kind of flew from my fingers. I hope you found some parts amusing because that's what I was going for. Next chapter: Daria talks to Dumbledore about her mission, so keep an eye out for it and leave me lots a reviews ;)**


	58. The one with dandelion petals

**Listen to: 'Happily Ever After' by He is We**

**Just a boy and a girl trying to take on the world, and we want to get caught.**

* * *

By some miracle, Daria's threat to erase Pansy's memory must have left an impression, because no rumor of her being pregnant got back to her, even by the next day.

After a pleasantly uneventful breakfast, Daria was actually under the delusion that today was going to be a good day. That is until she spotted the Slytherins leaning against the wall a little ways down the corridor, looking keen on baiting someone today.

Daria'a eyes roamed over the group of familiar faces. Blaise, Theodore Nott, Crabbe and Goyle, Draco, and Pansy. Draco's arm was lazily draped around Pansy's shoulders. Daria knew he needed to keep up appearances. Last time he had just dropped Pansy like a bad habit, she had immediately figured out that him and Daria were involved. But Daria still didn't have to like that her fiancé's fingers were on that pudgy bint.

Draco was the first amongst the group to spot the approaching Gryffindors and Daria could see the confliction in his eyes as he debated whether or not he wanted to pick a fight with Harry, knowing that it would inevitably be taken out on Daria since the two friends were at odds.

He didn't have the chance to debate for long though, because Pansy also spotted them and her beady little eyes immediately focused on Daria, a wily smirk spreading across her face.

"Aw. Is the little halfblood couple still fighting?" Pansy cooed as her eyes shot between Harry and Daria. "You two really are perfect for each other. Both of you having a blood traitor and a muggle for parents."

"What's wrong, Pansy?" Daria retorted in an equally sickly sweet voice. "Jealous because we aren't completely inbred? You know, after so many generations that kind of shit really takes its toll. Take your nose and brain for example. Maybe if you had a little muggle blood in your veins you wouldn't be such a lost cause."

"Me? Jealous of you?" Pansy scoffed, "Unlike some people, I have a pedigree."

"So do dogs," Daria shot. "And are you aware that your precious Voldemort is also a halfblood?"

"Don't say his name, you filthy..." Theodore Nott started but Daria quickly cut him off.

"But I guess Voldemort's not really the best example of my inbred theory since he doesn't even have a nose," Daria pouted sarcastically. She could hear Harry and Ron snorting behind her.

Daria continued to watch Pansy smugly but saw Nott draw his wand out of the corner of her eye.

Draco quickly reached out to lower Nott's wand arm but Harry beat him to it by drawing his own wand and disarming Nott.

"Don't even think about it, you foul little git," Ron snapped, also drawing his wand.

"Come on, boys," Daria sighed as she forced both of her friends to lower their wands. "We don't need a duel on our hands, especially one involving prefects and the head boy. Let's just get to class. We're going to be late. And we wouldn't want to waste our wit on Voldemort's scum. It'd hardly be fair, they aren't even armed."

"You need to teach your fucking girlfriend to watch her mouth, Scarhead. And how to respect her superiors," Draco drawled with a scowl, finally deciding to open his mouth.

Daria shot him a glare as she wondered if he'd spend this whole time trying to find the best way to kill two birds with one stone, because his line definitely had the desired effect. Not only had he killed any possible suspicions that he could have a soft spot for Daria, which had been very effective based off the shocked look on Hermione's face, but he had also cut down Harry by bringing up the fact that Daria didn't want to be with him anymore.

"My superiors?" Daria questioned innocently. "Like who? Voldemort? Don't you just love his name? It really rolls off the tongue, doesn't it? Voldemort, Voldemort, oh Voldy Voldy Voldy, Voldemort!" Daria sang with a smirk.

Pansy eyes widened and she lunged for Daria but Draco roughly grabbed her arm and pulled her back.

"Calm your knickers, Parkinson," Draco snapped with a roll of his eyes. "The old cow is coming this way."

Everyone looked up to see a perturbed looking Professor McGonagall traipsing toward the group. Daria heard her muttering under her breath. "Not again."

"I don't want to have to break up another fight between you children," she snapped pointedly, "Now all of you get to your classes before I start deducting house points."

Everyone in the group started mumbling either apologies or complaints before they all scattered to go to their classes. Daria headed in the opposite direction from her friends since she was the only one in Care of Magical Creatures again this year. Blaise had even dropped the class. Daria suspected it was to be rid of her and Luna's ever present eyes on him. So Daria was slightly surprised when she heard one of the Slytherins following in the same direction she was going.

She glanced over her shoulder at Draco and rolled her eyes. She knew he had Ancient Ruins this hour with her friends because Ron was always complaining about having to sit next to him.

Daria turned a corner and as soon as her and Draco were out of McGonagall's sight, she felt his fingers slither around her wrist before he pulled her into an empty classroom.

"Draco," she groaned as he pushed her up against the door to close it. "I have no time for your shenanigans right now. Thanks to your pug, I'm already going to be late to class."

"God, you know just how to rile me up with your gull," he groaned as he buried his face against her neck, "You're so fucking frustrating."

He trapped the flesh on her neck between his teeth as he forcefully pressed his hips against her, causing her to release a surprised gasp.

He pulled his face back to lock his eyes on hers as he grinded himself against her again.

Her moan filled the room. "Draco..."

A satisfied smirk crept onto his lips before they stole hers roughly. Her hands found the back of his neck, pulling him closer. His greedy fingers ran over every one of her curves, leaving goosebumps along their paths, as his tongue explored the depths of her mouth. She mewed into his mouth and instantly felt him growing hard against her thigh.

"We don't have time for this," Daria panted as she pushed him away and went to open the door.

"No," he growled as he tried to grab her arm to stop her, but she evaded him.

"I have to get to class. We can finish this later," she replied, breathlessly, as she pulled the door open, a smile lingering on her lips from his insatiable desire for her. "Have fun with Ron."

"Oh," she added, not turning back around to look at him, "I need you to steal me some dandelion petals tonight for the potion."

Then she flew from the classroom, not even affording a last glance at his darkened, lust filled eyes before she hurried out of the castle toward Hagrid's hut.

* * *

"Can you believe it, Luna?" Daria sighed in exasperation. Her and Luna were sitting together in Care of Magical Creatures as they observed a thestral. Daria particularly enjoyed these types of classes because it meant she didn't have to do anything.

Luna shook her head in amusement. "Boys can be so dumb sometimes."

"Tell me about it," Daria rolled her eyes, "I just can't believe that Harry and Draco both actually believe Ron. Ron doesn't even think I'm pregnant. He was just attempting a joke."

"Well that's a pretty terrible joke," Luna hummed thoughtfully.

"But enough about me," Daria started because she didn't think she could stomach talking about her fake pregnancy any longer, "How have you been?"

"Good," Luna nodded but Daria could see the distant look in her eyes, "Neville asked me to go steady with him."

"Really?" Daria pressed, "I didn't expect him to have that much nerve, honestly."

"Well he stumbled over his words the whole time, but I got the gist of it," Luna shrugged.

"What did you say?" Daria asked, watching her friend warily.

Luna frowned and her usually dreamy eyes turned down to the ground. "I said I would."

"Well that's good," Daria smiled reassuringly, putting one hand on Luna's shoulder. "I'm sure you two will be happy together. Neville's a good guy."

Luna nodded absently before she turned her sad eyes up to her fellow death eater lover. "Do you still believe in someday?"

Daria frowned too, but quickly covered it by pulling her blond friend into a tight embrace. "I do, Luna."

"Then I guess Neville could be good enough until then," she sighed before her eyes resumed their usual dreamy look. "He's not a very good kisser though."

Daria chuckled lightly. "I'm sorry to hear that, Luna. Maybe he just needs more practice."

"Maybe," Luna shrugged, "It's pretty bad though."

Daria chortled. "Then perhaps alcohol would be a better remedy."

"Or some Plimpy Soup," Luna hummed.

* * *

Daria fell into the seat next to Harry and across from Ron's little sister at the Gryffindor table for lunch.

"Evening Harry," she smiled. "Morning Mini Me Weasley."

Harry nodded in acknowledgement as he continued chewing his food.

Ginny shot her a glare. "You know I don't like it when you call me that."

"Ok then," Daria smirked, "Weasley Jr."

Ginny's glare hardened. "I don't like that one either."

"Sorry that's the best I can do," Daria shrugged, "Unless you prefer I take a page from the Malfoy name book."

"Speaking of Malfoy," Harry grumbled, "He started crap again today after Ancient Ruins."

Daria raised an eyebrow when she noticed a purple bruise on Harry's cheek. "Did he break any bones this time? You're nose still looks intact."

Harry scoffed. "Nope. No bones this time."

Daria grabbed his chin and tilted his head so she could examine the bruise better. He'd had worse, and at least he wasn't covered in blood. "Do I even want to know what you did to deserve this?"

"He called my mother a mudblood so called him a failure and a coward, like his father," he chuckled but winced at the pain smiling caused.

"Oh I bet he loved that," Daria chortled as she glanced across that hall at the Slytherin table. Neither of them had had the common sense to sit with their backs turned toward the other, but today it hardly mattered. No one else would be able to tell that the glare Draco was sending Harry's way wasn't one of resentment, but jealously due to Daria's close proximity to him.

Daria had missed this. She'd forgotten what had led to her and Harry's friendship to begin with. It had been their shared resentment of Draco. That had always been the biggest thing they'd had in common. Of course, now her hatred toward him was forced and fake, but it was still fun to play along.

"He's such a foul little git," Harry rolled his eyes as he also noticed Draco's stare. "I don't know how anymore puts up with him."

"Ask Daria. She's the one who slept with him," Ginny scoffed, but didn't have the nerves to meet Daria's glare.

"Butt out, she-weasel," Daria snapped.

Now Ginny's brown eyed glare was locked right on her.

"Stop picking on her, Daria," Harry sighed in annoyance at the fiery redheaded women next to him.

Daria scowled at Ginny before turned her attention back to Harry.

"So, what about the hunt?" Daria started, trying to steer away from conversations about what a git Draco was. "Any progress?"

Harry sighed. "You know I'm not supposed to tell you."

"No, I'm not supposed to come with you. You can still fill me in," Daria argued. "Maybe I can help you guys form some strategies."

Harry shook his head. "No. Dumbledore specifically told me when I got back from break that I was not to tell you anything about the hunt anymore. He said that you have your own mission to focus on."

Daria groaned loudly. "Why does everyone keep telling me to focus on my mission when I don't even know what it bloody is?"

Harry shrugged. "Maybe you should ask, Dumbledore."

Daria rolled her eyes. "I don't need a cryptic answer. I can never figure out his riddles."

"Well it's worth a shot," Harry stated, "If anything, maybe you could weasel some information about the you-know-whats out of him, since I can't tell you."

Daria frowned. _'I suppose it couldn't hurt. And I do have double History of Magic next.'_

She slung her bag over her shoulder as she stood up from the table. "I'll see you later, Harry, mini-Weasley."

Harry nodded in acknowledgement before trying to remove Ginny's glare from Daria's back by engaging his best friend's little sister in conversation.

* * *

"Come in, Daria," Dumbledore called from inside his office before Daria had even raised her hand to knock.

Daria turned the doorknob and timidly entered the headmaster's office.

"Please, do take a seat," he smiled, motioning to one of the purple plushie chairs in from of his desk with his hand, "I was beginning to wonder when I'd see you."

Daria nodded stiffly as she sat down. "Yes sir. I'd like to know why I'm not allowed help my friends hunt for horcruxes. I want to be of use in this war too."

Dumbledore's eyes sparked as he looked over his glasses at her. "I've always admired your spirit, Daria. You are a very interesting young lady. You have never failed to surprise me, and coming from me that is saying something. You never do what I expect you to."

Daria furrowed her eyebrows. "I'm sorry, sir. But I don't understand what you mean. Why wouldn't I want to help my friends? I want to help defeat Voldemort just as much as they do."

"Oh I don't doubt that, Daria," he replied, still smiling, "I'd just assumed you'd be here to talk about your mission."

Daria scoffed. "Professor, I don't even know what my mission is."

Dumbledore's eyebrows raised a fraction. "As I said, you never fail to surprise me. I would have thought your mission had been made obvious last year."

Daria eyed the old wizard warily as she cocked her head to the side. "I don't quite follow, Professor. What happened last year?"

"Daria," he sighed as he pushed his glasses back up his nose, "I didn't take you to retrieve your prophecy last year after I found out you were involved with Mr. Malfoy just for giggles. You play a very important part in the future of the wizarding world as we know it."

Daria felt her stomach drop. She didn't understand what he was trying to tell her. After she had found out about the prophecy she had broken it off with Draco. Isn't that why he had taken her to retrieve it? Did he know she was still hopelessly in love with Draco? "Sir..." Daria started, searching his eyes for some sign of an answer, "Why _did_ you take me to retrieve the prophecy?"

"What I'm about to tell you cannot be repeated, Daria," Dumbledore warned, looking at her sternly, "I assume that you have already told Draco about the prophecy, but he cannot know this part. I'm afraid he had a bit of a rebellious streak in him, not unlike you, and I can't have my words being detrimental to something so important."

Daria nodded in understanding and waited for him to continue.

"Daria, it is imperative that your prophecy comes true," he stated firmly, "Every part of it. You must not fight your destiny because your and Draco's role is going to be a very crucial one and it will change everything we know about light and dark. Only you can save Draco from the dark fate he is destined for."

Daria's brain was working in overdrive and Dumbledore might as well have been speaking in a different language for all the good her skills of comprehension were doing her.

"H-how?" her brain finally managed to form a word and she urged her mouth to open again. "Professor, h-how can I possibly save Draco? The prophecy said one of us is going to d-destroy the other."

"Daria, what is the one thing that Lord Voldemort cannot understand?" Dumbledore asked.

After Daria shot him another confused look, he continued. "Love," he smiled, "Voldemort cannot possibly understand the power of love because he had never experienced it himself. Draco can never truly turn to the darkness as long as there is love in his heart, and that my dear is where you come in. That is why it is so important for the prophecy to come true. You and Draco need to be in love in order for you to destroy the darkness within him."

Daria bit her lip as her thoughts swam around in her head. Her mission was to love Draco? That hardly seemed as crucial as destroying horcruxes, and she was already completely smitten with the boy, so what could she possibly need to be focusing on. Was it really possible for her to turn him to the light? Maybe she could stop him from ever leaving Hogwarts and becoming the next dark lord...

But that was part of the prophecy too and clearly it was all or nothing. After Draco had taken Voldemort's place, she wouldn't be able to be with him anymore, so whatever influence she had on him had to be used now. If she was going to change him, now was her only chance. That's why she couldn't hunt horcruxes with Harry. She had to save Draco, before it was too late.

Daria nodded solemnly as she steeled herself against all the emotions that were drumming loudly against her ribcage. "I understand, sir. The prophecy must come true."

"Good," he beamed as he slid a lemon drop into his mouth, "Now off you go. You'll have just enough time to make it to your second period of History of Magic."

'_Oh goodie,'_ Daria mentally huffed as she stood up and headed down the corridors toward her afternoon nap.

* * *

Daria read over the instructions in the book in front of her and stirred the cauldron three times counterclockwise. All she needed now was the dandelion petals.

She jumped slightly when she heard her bedroom door creak open, but smiled when she spotted a familiar head of snowy blond hair as he closed the door behind him.

"Did you get the goods?" Daria raised an eyebrow as she looked at his empty hands.

Draco pulled a small vial containing little yellow petals out of his pocket and dangled it in front of her for a moment before tossing it toward her. She was immensely thankful for her chaser reflexes as she easily caught the glass vial.

"Good job, sticky fingers," she winked before pouring the vial into the cauldron and stirring it five times clockwise.

Draco sat down on the other side of the cauldron, across from her as he watched her wave her wand over the potion to finish it.

"There," she sighed, "That was a bitch to make. Next time, I'll just go get one of those muggle pee sticks."

"Next time?" Draco raised an eyebrow but she just rolled her eyes at him. Did he not realize that she planned on keeping him around for a very long time?

"So how does it work?" he asked as he examined the clear potion in front of them.

"Well I need to rip some of my hairs out and add them to the potion," she stated as she played with her hair nervously, "And if everything is normal then nothing will happen and the potion will remain clear."

"And if something is not 'normal'?" he pressed, eyeing the potion cautiously like it was going to jump up and bite him.

"Then it will turn blue," Daria answered as she continued playing with her hair until a few loose strands got tangled in her fingers and fell out. She eyed them warily as she looked back up at Draco.

"You know I'm not pregnant, right?" she sighed as she stared up into his worry filled eyes.

"Then just add the damn hairs so we can get this over with," he muttered anxiously. "I'd really like to finish our tryst from earlier."

Daria felt a smile creep onto her lips despite the incredibly tense atmosphere before she released her hairs over the cauldron.

Both she and Draco leaned closer as they watched the potion dissolve the red hairs until they were completely gone. And nothing happened...

* * *

**A/N: Wow, what an eventful chapter, if I do say so myself. It was loads of fun to write too, so I really hope you enjoyed it. Leave me some reviews if you did **** Next chapter, Daria and her friends are going to talk about boys again, but this time it will be fun and not tense, so be sure to watch for it.**


	59. The one with Daria's first kiss

**A/N: Listen to 'Check Yes Juliet' by We The Kings.**

**They'll tear us apart if you give them the chance. Don't sell your heart, don't say we're not meant to be.**

* * *

_Draco slammed her up against the wall and tucked his hands under her rear, lifting her up so she could easily wrap her legs around his waist._

_A small moan escaped her throat as he caught her bottom lip between his teeth. She arched her back as he dragged his teeth down her chin, to the pulse point on her neck._

"_I think I need to hear it," she purred as he continued to feast on her flesh._

_He pulled away and furrowed his eyebrows. "Hear what?"_

"_You know what," she stated pointedly as she motioned to the cauldron on the other side of her room, filled with clear liquid._

_He scoffed. "I don't think so," he smirked as he leaned in to latch onto her lips but she shoved her hand into his face, stopping him._

"_This isn't going anywhere until I hear it, Mr. Malfoy," she shot, crossed her arms over her chest and giving him a scolding look._

_He let out a sigh of exasperation that turned into a low growl as his eyes trailed over her completely clothed body. Oh the horrendous thing he would have to do in order to get her to remove them. It made his stomach churn._

"_You were... right," he grumbled with a roll of his eyes._

_Daria smirked smugly before she laced her fingers into his hair and crashed her lips into his. He smirked back as he slid a cool hand under her skirt, causing her to release a loud gasp._

Daria felt a smile creeping onto her lips at the memory of last night's affair and looked up under her lashes at the tantalizing blond Slytherin sitting on the other side of the common room. It should be illegal for one man to harbor so much sex appeal without even trying.

He was slouching in an armchair with his feet carelessly propped up on a footstool. He was fingering the pages of his book with one hand and absentmindedly scratching Kiki's head with the other.

As if he could feel her gaze on him, his eyes shot directly to hers and she felt her heart thud heavily against her ribs when his lips turned up into a smirk. She'd been caught.

She quickly looked away before anyone else noticed and felt a blush creeping onto her cheeks.

"Daria!"

Her head shot up like a bullet and she felt the blush leaving her cheeks as the blood rushed from her face. Had someone seen their exchange?

Ron's red hair appeared at the common room entry way and he gave her a playful grin. "We're having a party tonight!"

Daria raised an eyebrow as she closed her book. "Didn't we just have one of those? It wasn't very fun and I'm fresh out of booze."

"Not one of those kinds of parties," Ron rolled his eyes before he started scooting some furniture out of the way to make a large open space in the middle of the room. "Harry has something he wants to tell us. Says it's big."

"Oh boy," Daria grinned as she slid off the couch and took a seat on the floor where Ron had cleared space. "Are we going to fight off some bad guys? Maybe find a secret underground passage? Free some convicted mass murders? Slay some dragons, perhaps?" She wrapped her arms around her legs, pulling her knees to her chin as she bounced slightly in anticipation.

She heard Draco groan at her over excitement about putting her life in danger but luckily Ron didn't notice. Instead he pointed to the Ravenclaw couple that was also occupying the common room. "Ravenclaws. Out!" he ordered and he motioned over his shoulder with his thumb.

The two prefects looked offended for a second before they both just shook their heads at him and scurried out of the room.

"No, none of that this year," Ron chuckled. "You too, Malfoy," he added, motioning for him to leave with a nod of his head.

Draco scoffed and raised an eyebrow. "No. I was here first Weaselbee. I'm not moving."

"But it's still early in the year," Daria pressed, "We still have a whole semester to get ourselves in danger."

Ron chuckled slightly at her words, breaking his glare at Draco. "Well maybe we can convince Harry to pick a fight with Voldemort, just for you."

"Oh do you think he would?" Daria gushed, "I've been brushing up on my defensive spells lately. I totally think I could take him."

Daria heard Draco mutter something about hero complexes before the common room door flew open and Harry and Hermione walked in.

"Harry!" Daria called, "Ron and I were just talking about you."

Harry paled slightly and stopped walking, but Hermione pushed him forward again.

"Good things, I hope?" Harry asked as he took a seat on the floor across from Daria. Hermione took a seat beside her.

"Daria wants some alone time with Voldemort," Ron answered, still smiling in amusement as he took a seat on the other side of Daria.

With Ron out of the way, Harry's eyes immediately shot up to Draco. "What's _he_ doing here?" Harry scowled.

"_He_ doesn't like being referred to in the third person, Pothead," Draco sneered, not bothering to look up from his book.

"He won't leave," Ron shrugged, "Let's just ignore him."

Harry shot Draco another wary glance, causing Draco to flash his eyebrows daringly, before Harry sighed and turned back to his friends.

"So what did you want to tell us, Harry?" Daria asked, giddily. Whatever it was, it was sure to be good.

"Oh... well... um," Harry nervously adjusted his collar as he stared at the ground.

"Oh for heaven sake, Harry," Hermione scolded, "Will you just tell them, already? Or would you prefer I did it?"

Harry shot her a glare.

"Bloody hell, Mione," Ron gaped, "Give the poor bloke a break."

"Yeah, Hermione," Harry agreed, earning him a glare from Hermione.

"Fine," Harry sighed before he looked up to Daria. "I've started seeing someone else."

A goofy grin spread across Daria's face. "Oh thank God. I was hoping you'd find someone else soon," she sighed in relief.

Harry's eyebrows shot up in shock. "You're not upset?"

Daria shook her head and chuckled. "Not at all. Maybe now you'll stop pestering me. Who's the lucky girl?"

Harry looked momentarily disappointed the Daria was so happy about his rebound but quickly shook it off as nervousness took over again. "Um... well... the funny thing about that is..."

"It's Ginny!" Hermione blurted, not able to handle anymore of Harry's stuttering.

"Ginny?!" Ron and Daria both yelled simultaneously.

"Hermione!" Harry snapped.

Daria could hear Draco snickering from his corner of the room but no one else seemed to notice or care that he was eavesdropping.

"You're snogging my little sister?!" Ron howled as he stared at Harry in disbelief. "Are you trying to earn some sort of record for scoring red headed girls?"

"Hey!" Daria huffed. "Why'd you have to go after mini-me-Weasley? There are so many other girls in this school," Daria crossed her arms over her chest.

"It's obvious, innit?" Ron snapped, "She resembles you. You call her mini-me-Weasley for a reason."

"Yeah, cause she's your mini-me," Daria argued, "Not mine. I don't even like the girl."

"I never understood that," Hermione interjected, "Why don't you like Ginny?"

Daria shrugged, her arms still folded. "Oh I'm sure I can come up with a list. But mainly she just irks the piss out of me. She can be quite a snarky little girl."

"You just don't like her because she's too much like you," Harry argued, giving her a pointed look. "You've never liked people who can easily predict and read you. Like poor Luna."

"First off, I am _nothing_ like Weasley Jr., and even if I was, that just makes you dating her all the more creepier. And second, Luna and me are actually quite good friends now, so your point is moot," Daria explained. "I may have a lot in common with Luna, but I have nothing in common with little Weasley."

"Can't you ever just use her name? God you're worse than him," Harry grumbled, nodding to Draco with his head. Draco didn't look up but there was an obvious smirk plastered on his lips as he continued eavesdropping. "And you are just like Ginny. You're so similar to all of Ron's family that it's a little scary; from your personality, down to your red hair. Hell, if we just abandoned you in their house, no one would even notice you were an outsider."

"I don't thank so, mate," Ron shook his head. "Daria may fit in with the twins since the three of them couldn't be serious to save their lives, but she's too much of a rebel to blend in."

"You think so?" Daria smirked, "Am I too badass to be a Weasley?"

"Uh... yeah!" Ron replied, as if it were obvious. "You're not the kind of girl a bloke brings home to his mother, unless, maybe, he was a death eater. And even then you'd just be a 'fuck you' to his parents. That's why Fred never told mom he was dating you."

Daria shrugged. "That's okay. I didn't tell my mom about Fred either. I'd never be permitted to date a blood traitor, even though, technically she's one too."

"You and Fred should get back together," Hermione suggested, "You two made a nice couple. Both of you are hopeless troublemakers."

Daria didn't have to look at Draco to know that he was tensely listening to every word of the conversation.

"We'll we didn't really have much of a relationship," Daria pointed out, "We were only together for like a month."

"Wasn't he your first kiss?" Hermione asked, raising an eyebrow.

Daria shot her a glance. "Not technically," she replied between clinched teeth, with a meaningful look.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ron asked, furrowing his eyebrows.

Harry elbowed him, hard, and cleared his throat. "Perhaps this isn't the best time for a trip down second year memory lane."

Ron and Hermione exchanged a confused glance for a moment before realization dawned on both of them and they both nodded in agreement. Daria could feel Draco's confused eyes on the side of her face but she refused to meet his gaze.

"So moving away form my personal life..." Daria started.

"Not so fast," Harry asserted, "I'm supposed to find out if you'll go to Hogsmeade with Seamus."

Daria groaned loudly. "Didn't you guys already try to set me up with him?"

"Yes but you didn't even give him a chance. You could use a guy in your life," Harry replied.

"Who says I need a man? I'm planning on becoming a nun and moving to Austria. And if I happen to get sent to work for a widower with seven kids that all sing then so be it," Daria answered matter-of-factly.

Harry and Hermione both rolled their eyes and Ron just looked confused.

"No convent would accept you," Hermione retorted.

"Ouch, low blow," Daria frowned, placing a hand over her heart. "But regardless, I'm not interested in Seamus. The only reason he wants to go out with me is because he thinks I banged Harry and is hoping to get lucky."

"Daria's never going to end up with a guy like Seamus anyways. I have several theories about who she's going to marry and he just doesn't fit the bill," Ron stated.

"Oh? Do tell," Daria grinned playfully as she leaned closer to Ron. "Who is my future husband?"

"Well I have three theories," Ron began, "My first is that you will find some nice muggle who owns a pub and loves loud music. You'll be fascinated with his muggle ways and fall into a hopeless obsession."

Daria nodded thoughtfully, "Sounds legitimate. What are the other two?"

Ron smirked. "My second theory is that you'll eventually get lonely and settle on Harry."

"Hey!" Harry interrupted but Ron ignored him and continued.

"My third theory is one day you're going to hop on the back of some death eater's racing broom and get matching tattoos," Ron chuckled. Daria heard Draco shift slightly in his chair.

Daria raised her eyebrow, "Are you questioning my loyalties?"

"Not at all," Ron shook his head, "But I can picture you taking after Hagrid when it comes to boys. 'Seriously misunderstood creatures, death eater'."

Harry, Hermione, and Ron all burst out into laughter, but Daria just rolled her eyes.

"In fact," Ron continued, "I'd be willing to take bets that it's going to be the bad boy Daria ends up going for."

"No way," Harry disagreed, "It's totally going to be the muggle."

"I think it will be Harry," Hermione added, "I've always thought you two make a cute couple."

"Just as long as Kiki likes them," Daria shrugged.

"I think that cat is broken," Ron snorted, "I mean look at that..."

He pointed to Kiki, who was curled up in Draco's lap taking a nap. "She'd be hopping on the back of the death eater's racing broom with you."

* * *

After Daria and her friends talked and joked for a while longer, they all went to bed, leaving her and Draco alone in the common room.

"That was a fun conversation," Draco raised an eyebrow as Daria pushed Kiki off and sat on his lap.

"Tell me about it," Daria chuckled, "I love talking about other guys knowing that you're eavesdropping."

He snickered as he nuzzled his nose against her jaw making her stomach do summersaults. "So who was your first kiss?"

Daria's cheeks immediately turned as red as her hair. "I don't think I should tell you. You'll be furious."

"Well, nothing can be worse than Potter or a Weasley," he argued as he planted kisses along her neck.

She smiled as she thought about the memory. "You really want to know?"

He nodded against her neck as he trailed his hand over her collarbone.

"It was you," she sighed and chuckled when his head immediately shot up so he could look her in the eye.

"What are you talking about?" he furrowed his eyebrows, "I didn't kiss you until sixth year."

"Not technically," Daria blushed, "But you did kiss Parkinson."

Draco looked completely lost so Daria quickly started to explain.

"During second year, Harry though you were the Heir of Slytherin. So he and Ron took Polyjoice potion to turn into Crabbe and Goyle so they could question you. I was running late and missed them leaving for the Slytherin common room, but luckily Hermione turned into a cat lady so she gave me some potion to turn into Pansy. When I got to the dungeons though, Harry and Ron were already starting to turn back into themselves and they needed a distraction to get out before you noticed... So I kissed you, but you thought I was Pansy," she explained.

Draco's mouth opened and closed several times as he tried to comprehend what she was saying and figure out if he should be mad or not.

"So when Pansy kissed me second year... it was actually you?" he sputtered, still trying to shift through the new information.

Daria nodded sheepishly.

"Oh thank God," he sighed before pulling her into a tight embrace, "That cow wasn't my first kiss."

* * *

**A/N: So I know that this chapter was pretty uneventful but I really wanted to introduce Harry and Ginny's relationship and give some back-story on Daria's and her personality. I was also going to add the story of how she met Ron but I just couldn't' squeeze it in. I'm considering writing a one shot, though, about how she met the Golden trio.**

**It just occurred to me today that this story is already 2/3 -3/4 of the way done =O It's all happening so fast. Makes me very sad. I have no idea what I'm going to do after it's over. This story has polluted my brain for over seven years so it will be bittersweet whenever I'm not sitting around dreaming up plot points anymore.**

**Also, I realize that chapter 60 is coming up and I can already guarantee that it won't be as legendary as chapter 50 but there will be a new plot twist. Leave me some reviews if you liked it ;)**


	60. The one with the dark mark

**A/N: So this chapter is just all over the place. It's got humor (at least, my attempt at it), smut (this is your warning, if you don't want to read it then you can skip to the page break), drama, and a plot twist! Dun dun dun. I would once again like to point out that this story doesn't follow the books. In fact, I'm basically re-writing the books to fit into my story. Muahaha! So without further ado... chapter 60.**

* * *

**Listen to: 'Spectrum' by Zedd**

**We'll run where lights won't chase us; hide where love can save us; I will never let you go.**

* * *

"Daria?"

Daria groaned in her sleep and rolled over, burying her face into her pillow.

"Daria? Are you asleep?"

"Not anymore," she grumbled as she pried her eyes open to glare at her blond intruder.

Draco smiled in amusement at her grogginess.

"Took you long enough," she yawned as she propped herself up on her elbows. "What'd you do? Wait for everyone in the entire school to go to sleep?"

He sighed in annoyance before he scooted her over a little and sat down next to her. "Pansy decided to be a night owl today and Salazar knows why she thought I looked like I was in the mood to have a heart to heart."

Daria snorted. "Did she invite you into her bedroom to talk about your feelings?"

Draco rolled his eyes. "No, she didn't ask me to leave the common room, but I almost yelled 'rape' a few times. She tried to bloody sit on me! So I pushed her off and she fell onto the floor. I think after that she got the hint."

Daria chuckled. "You need to be nicer to her. The last thing we need is her suspecting that you're sleeping with someone else."

"But I am sleeping with someone else," he smirked as he leaned over her and rested his weight onto his elbows.

"That's beside the point," Daria argued but could tell the conversation was coming to a close as Draco's face inched toward her and she could feel his hot breath against her chin, making her heartbeat speed up tenfold.

"Are you done complaining yet," he raised a cocky eyebrow as he brushed his fingers up her thigh, making her shiver. "Because I had a different idea as to what we could do tonight."

Daria ran her tongue over her lips to moisten them and his eyes immediately shot to them.

"Is there something you want, Draco?" she smiled slyly.

She squirmed under him, deliberately brushing her leg between his.

Draco closed his eyes and took a deep breath to calm himself before opening them again to look into hers. He leaned in so his lips were just above hers, not touching them, but there was no possible way he could get closer without actually kissing her.

"Tease," he breathed before he entwined his fingers with hers and brought both of her hands above her head, pinning them there.

Daria licked her lips again and extending her tongue further out so it grazed over his bottom lip in the process, before she wiggled beneath him, this time moving one leg to either side of him, inviting him between them.

His self-control must have been spent because he swiftly trapped her bottom lip between his as he pressed himself against her, releasing a lustful growl.

Daria arched her back, trying to deepen the kiss without the use of her arms. Draco must have realized what she was trying to do because he freed her hands and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her mid-section off the bed and closer to him.

She weaved her fingers through his soft, platinum hair as his tongue glided into her mouth, making her release a dulcet moan.

Daria ran her fingers up his stomach and chest before she started to slowly unbutton his shirt as they continued to gorge themselves on each other. After she had undone the last button he pulled it off the rest of the way and slung it to the floor, followed quickly by her oversized t-shirt, that he didn't notice or didn't care, actually belonged to him.

Her bra was next, then her knickers, and his fingers instantly found their way inside her, making her squirm and moan into his mouth. Her reaction caused him to smirk happily, before he started nibbling on her lower lip while his digits rotated inside of her.

His thumb stroked teasingly over her clit and she anxiously started tugging at the waistband of his boxers. He pulled away from her lips and moved his mouth and his free hand to her breast, making her arch her back and moan louder as he fondled her nipples.

"Now who's a tease?" she smirked as she finally managed to pull off his boxer and he kicked them off to the floor while he continued to ravish her. He grinned before he took one of her nipples gently between his teeth, making her gasp at the erotic feeling.

After several long, agonizing yet wonderful minutes, he finally moved his mouth back up to her neck to suck at the skin over her pulse point, while he positioned himself between her legs.

He grabbed his erection and ran it over her wet warmth, making him groan, but he didn't enter her. Instead he continued to tease her as he moved over her most sensitive areas with his head.

Finally, she's had enough of his games and gave him a hard shove, knocking him off to the side of her, before she pounced on him and climbed up to straddle herself over his rock hard erection.

Draco watched in awe as she impaled herself on him and he let out a low groan as she consumed him. He grabbed her face and pulled her down for a rough kiss and swallowed her moan and she started sliding up and down his length.

Draco ran his hands over ever inch of her soft skin, before his hands settled on her breasts, caressing and fondling them, intensifying her mews of pleasure.

She was going fast and he knew he wouldn't be able to last for long with the way she was grinding against him, taking in all of him. She threw her head back, breaking the kiss as her moans and thrusts grew more frenzied.

Draco grabbed a hold of her hips and started forcing her down onto him harder and faster, over and over and over again, until her moans became screams and he felt her muscles around him start to spasm as she found her release. He pounded into her a few more times before he let out a throaty groan and he came hard inside of her.

Daria collapsed on top of him in a shivering heap as the buzz started to subside and exhaustion took over. Draco summoned the blankets and covered their exposed bodies from the night's chill and wrapped his arms protectively around her as she rolled off to the side of him and laid her head on his chest.

"I love you," she sighed and she nestled up against him.

"I love you too," he smiled as he planted a kiss on her forehead and rested his cheek against her hair before her rhythmic breathing lulled him to sleep.

* * *

Saturday was definitely the best day of the week. Sure, anyone who was in school or had a full time job could tell you that, but that kind of joy for the weekend just couldn't compare to what Daria felt.

This was her one day with Draco. They could just lie in bed all day long if they so chose to and no one would ever know. There were no classes, no obligations, and no nosey friends... at least not in her bedroom.

She sighed dreamily as she lifted her head to look up at the sleeping blond beside her. He was so beautiful when he didn't look like he'd just tasted a lemon, which he did at all times except when he was sleeping or doing... other activities involving a bed.

On Friday nights, he would come to her after everyone else had gone to bed, and in the morning, he'd still be there. She hated waking up to a cold bed on during the week, but he couldn't exactly let anyone see him leaving. It was risky enough that he slept in her bed.

Something felt off about this morning though and she furrowed her eyebrows when she realized that it was still dark outside her window. She glanced at the clock next to her bed and saw it was only 3 am.

Daria glanced down at the foot of her bed and noticed that Kiki was also awake but the kneazle looked on edge as she warily watched Draco, her big blue eyes wide and unsure.

Daria gently brushed her hand over Kiki's head to try to calm the creature, but she didn't settle.

_What's wrong with her? She loves Draco._

Daria glanced back at Draco and followed Kiki's eyes to the exposed dark mark that polluted his arm and Daria let out a surprised gasp when she realized that it was moving.

Her hands quickly flew to her mouth, but luckily she hadn't woken him.

She stared, wide eyed, at the mark for a few moments and felt her heart start pounding painfully against her chest as she slid off the bed and hurried to the window to pull the curtains back.

"No!" This time she had woken him, as he immediately shot up at the sound of her cry and quickly grabbed his arm in pain, letting out a low hiss.

Daria didn't turn to check on him though, as her eyes were glued to the mark in the sky, like the one on his arm, as it lit up the night sky.

They both jumped when a loud knock sounded against the bedroom door. "Daria! Daria, wake up! Hurry!" Harry's voice called frantically through the door.

Daria's wide eyes met Draco's for just a second before he jumped off the bed and they both started hastily throwing their clothes back on.

"Just a minute!" Daria called as she pulled her shirt over her head, "I'm not decent."

As soon as her clothes were all on she turned to Draco who was looking around desperately for a place to hide.

'Under the bed,' Daria mouthed and he quickly dropped to the floor and rolled out of sight behind the dust ruffle.

Daria jumped as Harry knocked again. "Daria! Hurry up!"

Daria flew to the door and flung it open to find a very unhinged and exhausted looking Harry.

He barged right in, closing the door behind him and putting up a silencing spell.

"Harry? What's happened? Why is _his_ mark in the sky? Is someone..." she couldn't finish that thought as she felt a stinging sensation behind her eyelids.

"Snape..." was all Harry could get out before tears started streaming down his already bloodshot eyes.

"Snape's dead?" Daria pressed, taking an anxious step toward him.

Harry furiously shook his head. "No! Snape's the one that did it! He trusted Snape – he trusted him! He was there, at the Astronomy Tower, when we got back, waiting for him. And then Snape – he – he—"

Daria immediately understand what Harry was trying to say as she felt her own tears began to pour down her cheeks. "Dumbledore – is he –"

Harry solemnly nodded and Daria felt a sob nearly choke her before she lunged herself at her friend and clung to him as she cried against his shoulder.

"We have to leave," he panted, "We have to leave Hogwarts. It's not safe here without Dumbledore and we have to keep searching. We have to kill Voldemort, Daria."

Daria nodded as she pulled away.

Harry grabbed her shoulders tightly and looked straight into her eyes. "Do you want to come with us?"

Daria's mouth fell open as she stared at him in awe. "But Dumbledore said..."

"But Dumbledore's not here anymore, now is he? All thanks to the traitorous snake!" Harry yelled making Daria flinch slightly. She was suddenly very aware of the fact that she had a death eater hiding under her bed.

"I won't make you stay here if you want to come," Harry stated, now a little more in control of his emotions. "In a few hours this place will be teaming the Death Eaters. We already suspect that they've infiltrated the ministry. It's not safe here anymore, for any of us. Ron, Hermione, and I are leaving, and, Daria, we won't be able to come back for you later if you want to stay."

Daria nodded tensely. "I understand, Harry."

"Then you'll come?" he asked hopefully, but his hope faded when she frowned up at him.

"No," she sighed, breaking eye contact, "Dumbledore would have wanted me to stay here. He thinks that it's very important that I do my own mission, and I agree with him."

"What is it?" Harry pressed, urgently. She could tell he didn't want to leave her here alone.

Daria swallowed hard. "I can't tell you. I promised Dumbledore that I wouldn't tell a soul."

Harry sighed and searched her eyes for a very long time, trying to figure out of she was sure or not before he pulled her into a tight embrace.

"Take care of Ginny?" he pleaded, against her shoulder.

Daria scoffed. "You're kidding, right?"

Despite the terrible situation, Harry chortled hoarsely. "What am I saying? I should be telling her to look after you."

Daria shot him a playful glare.

"You two better not do anything stupid. I'd hate to think of what schemes you two could come up with if you worked together. Like getting Dumbledore's Army back together," he froze when he saw the twinkle in her eyes, "Don't do that though. That is definitely on the stupid and reckless list."

"Only when it's not you doing it, huh?" Daria scoffed.

"I'm serious, Daria. Stay out of trouble. And if things get bad, just keep your head down. Don't go looking for trouble, and don't try to be a hero," he scolded.

Daria rolled her eyes. "Says the boy who puts all of our lives in danger every year."

Now it was Harry's turn to roll his eyes but he chose to move on seeing as this lecture was futile. "I'll try to owl you updates but I can't make any promises."

Daria nodded.

"I'd better get going. Hermione and Ron are waiting for me in Dumbledore's office. I just came to get you," he sighed as he cautiously headed toward the door and drew his wand.

"Tell them I love them, would you?" Daria tried to push down a sob.

"I will," Harry nodded. "Goodbye, Daria. Stay safe."

"You too," she half smiled before he disappeared behind her door and she felt the tears start flowing down her cheeks again as she just stared after him. Oh how she wanted to go with him. But Dumbledore had been very specific. She needed to save Draco... but right now he would need someone to save him from her.

"Did you know?" she hissed and she jerked her head to watch as he climbed out from under her bed.

He wouldn't look up at her. "Know what?"

She took a large stride toward him before her open palm collided with his face. "Don't you dare play fucking dumb with me, Malfoy! Like you weren't there for the entire conversation! Dumbledore is dead! Snape killed him! Now I'll ask you again: Did. You. Know?!"

His eyes finally turned to hers in a glare. "Yes."

Both of her hands went toward him in a rampage. "Then. Why. Didn't. You. Fucking. Tell. Me?!" She yelled as she furiously tried to slap him again and again, but he easily dodged and blocked her.

He finally got a hold of both of her wrists to stop her and she started trying to kick him instead, so he backed her up against a nearby wall and pressed himself against her to bar her attacks. "It wouldn't have made a difference," he sighed as she continued to try to fight him.

"Yes it would have!" she screamed angrily, making him flinch, "I could have done something! I could have prevented it!"

"You can't save everyone, love," he replied coldly, "You can't always be a hero."

"I could have saved him!" she argued as she continued to glare at him, but the tear that escaped betrayed her.

"You just would have ended up getting yourself killed to boot," he snapped. "The Dark Lord wanted me to do it, but Snape insisted that he be the one to kill the old fool. If it hadn't been for Snape, we'd be having a very difference conversation right now."

"So you would have done it, then? You'd have killed him yourself, if Snape hadn't volunteered?" Daria spat, looking at him with pure loathing.

"If I thought he would kill me, or you, or my family, then yes. I would have," he stated, firmly, "I'd do whatever I'd have to do to keep you safe. End of story."

Daria was still fuming as she felt the pain still trailing down her face. She had so many emotions flowing through her body: hurt, betrayal, fear, and oddly enough, relief. Relief that it wasn't Draco that had killed Dumbledore. Relief that Snape had, for whatever reason, volunteered in his place. Because of Snape, Draco wasn't a murderer... yet.

Daria let out a sob before burying her face into his chest. He immediately relaxed his grip and wrapped his arms around her pulling her close as her tears soaked his shirt. "Everything will be ok, love. Don't worry. You'll be a lot safer here than you would be on the run with Saint Potter and company. I'll make sure of that."

"I'm not worried about my safety," she snapped, but her voice cracked as she spoke.

"That's what I'm afraid of," he sighed as he continued stroking her hair.

**A/N: Sorry this part took me so long to finish. We're in the process of moving and are about to leave for vacation. Sadly, the next part will probably be delayed as well since I'll be on vacation for the next week. But my laptop is coming with me and I will have internet, so we'll just have to see how motivated I feel to write while sipping pina coladas on the beach =P It might just inspire me.**

**It took me a long time to figure out what I was going to do for this chapter. I recognized that Dumbledore had to go because he couldn't just be sitting around during the battle of Hogwarts killing people with his Elder Wand, and almost had Draco be the one that was supposed to kill him, but I wanted to give him a little more time with Daria and not just jump to the next plot point. I also want to have Daria there during the Snape administration because I think it'll be interesting.**

**Also, in case you somehow managed to miss it, there is now a one shot companion for this story called "Don't Say We're Not Meant To Be" so go check it out if you haven't yet.**

**Leave me some reviews if I liked it ;)**


	61. The one where Draco gets called names

******Listen to 'Sail' by AWOLNATION**

******This is how an angel dies. I blame it on my own sick pride.**

* * *

Draco adjusted his green Slytherin tie before he opened up his bedroom door and slipped out into the hallway.

He glanced back to take another look at the shiny gold plaque on his door.

_'Draco Malfoy, Head Boy'_

He'd longed to see those words for six and a half years, but the victory was bittersweet, for his witch was unhappy, and if his witch wasn't happy, then she could make his life hell.

Draco cautiously looked at the closed and tightly locked door next to his.

_'Daria McVey, Head Girl'_

She had not taken the news well last night, and he hadn't seen her since.

He sighed defeatedly before heading out of the prefect dorms to go to the new headmaster's office.

"Good evening, Mr. Malfoy," Snape greeted and motioned for Draco to sit down in one of the plushie chairs.

"Hello, Sir," Draco nodded curtly before he sat down.

"I see Miss McVey is late, as usual," Snape drawled, looking like he was fighting to keep his eyes from rolling.

Draco stiffened and kept his eyes on the floor as he spoke. "No, sir. She's not coming. She's not feeling well."

That was a lie... a poor one. Draco just hoped that the greasy haired head master wouldn't realize he was lying for his rebellious Gryffindor witch. The last thing he needed was Snape suspecting a romance between the enemy heads.

Snape's lips twitched and Draco wasn't sure if he was resisting a smile or scowl. It had to be a scowl, a smile would be inappropriate, regardless of if Draco's lie was believable or not.

"I see," the head master deadpanned.

There was a brief moment of silence where his black, glaring eyes watched the Malfoy heir stare at the floor before the older man cleared his throat and handed the head boy a scroll of paper. "This is an updated list of the seventh year prefects that will be dorming with you."

Draco unrolled the list and looked it over. Replacing the moronic red Weasel and Daria, would be one of the Patil twins and Longbottom. Blaise would be replacing Draco as the male Slytherin prefect.

"Longbottom?" Draco looked up at the headmaster and raised an eyebrow. "Sir, are you sure he's qualified?"

"Do you question my judgment?" Snape sneered. "Mr. Longbottom is a potential threat, being an ex member of that rebellious Dumbledore's army club. Not as big of threat as Miss McVey is, though, seeing as she was helping Potter lead it."

Draco flinched at the mention of Daria being a threat. He hated that she had to go looking for trouble instead of trying to keep herself safe.

"That's precisely why I put them both in the prefect dorm. I've asked Mr. Zabini to keep an eye on Longbottom, and I'd like you to keep an eye on Miss McVey and report to me immediately if you feel she may be... up to something," Snape explained in a bored tone.

Draco nodded, "Yes, sir."

_Yeah right. Like I'm just going to hand her over to those demented Carrows._

"You may go now," Snape dismissed him with a wave of his hand.

Draco stood up and hurriedly exited the room. Snape may have been his favorite professor and had always been lenient on him, but ever since he had murdered Dumbledore, Draco had felt uneasy around him. Sure Snape was a creepy bloke, but it was hard to peg him as a cold-blooded killer. But that's what they all were, right? Death eaters were killers, and Draco would soon be no exception.

Draco took his time getting back to his dorm, not in any hurry to go back to his melancholy girlfriend so she could continue to ignore him. He hadn't even done anything! Well besides not telling her about the plot against Dumbledore's life, stopping her and her feckless friends from trying to prevent it. Therefore, in her mind, he was the reason they had run off to do God-knows-what dangerous tomfoolery without her.

Draco arrived at the common room entrance and said the password before shuffling in, only to release an exasperated sigh at the sight in front of him.

It seemed Daria had finally decided to vacate her room and had chosen her fellow DA members to keep her company; the toad boy, the Ravenclaw nut job, and the she-weasel.

"This is no place for social calls," Draco announced as be strutted toward the group that was monopolizing the sofas. "All sixth years, out. Now!"

The three Gryffindors all shot him a glare but Lovegood just smiled up at him.

"Good evening, Draco. How are you today?"

Draco raised an eyebrow as he scowled at her. "Peachy - Now out!"

The blond girl and the freckled redhead both stood up and left, while Daria and Longbottom continued to glare at him from the couch.

Draco watched the 6th year girls leave before he trotted over to the couch and squeezed into the spot between the two Gryffindors.

"Well this is cozy," Draco smirked as he placed both arms over the back of the couch.

Daria rolled her eyes and Longbottom groaned. "I'm going to my room," Toad Boy sighed as he stood up to get away from Draco, "Let me know if this git bothers you. Good night, Daria."

"Night, Neville," Daria smiled weakly before he ascended the stairs, leaving them alone.

"I'd like to know what fat-bottom thinks he's gonna do if I do bother you," Draco smirked as he leaned back into the couch a little more and moved his arm from the couch to Daria's shoulders.

Daria continued to glare at the wall in front of her. She wasn't going to give up the ignoring streak for something as juvenile as him making fun of her friends.

"You're not trying to get Dumbledore's Army back together, are you?" he shot, not sure if he wanted to know the answer to that or not.

She finally turned her head to look at him and quirked an eyebrow. "Why? Are you thinking about joining?" she scoffed.

Draco sighed in annoyance. "Daria, even the-boy-who-runs-and-hides told you not to do anything stupid, specifically not getting the D.A. back together. For once, can't you just listen? If not to me, then to him?"

Daria pursed her lips and still refused to look at him. "I don't take orders. Harry, Hermione, Ron, and I are a team, and since I'm the only one here, I get to call the shots. I'm not just some brainless death eater who does whatever my master tells me to. I don't recall asking for your permission either. And what if I am getting the D.A. back together? Are you going to rat me out to Snape?"

Draco rolled his eyes. "You know I won't, but that's not because I don't think you're being stupid."

"What form does your patronus take?" Daria shot, finally turning to look at him.

"What?" he furrowed his eyebrows.

"A patronus. You know, the spell that fends off dementors. Can you make a full-bodied one? Or even a shield one?" she continued.

Draco shook his head. "No, but I don't have much use for one in my profession."

"If you joined Dumbledore's Army, I could show you how to do it. I could teach you a ton of defensive spells," she offered. Was that hope in her eyes? Did she really think that he would openly support the Order?

"No," he drawled.

"Well why not?!" she snapped, "Someday you may need them. If we're ever going to be together then you're going to have to migrate to the right side."

"Not today," he argued, "You and your little hero friends succeed in getting rid of the Dark Lord, then we'll talk."

"What will that solve?" she shot, "Then we'll have to get rid of you. Why are we even fooling ourselves? This will never work. You'll never end up on the right side."

Daria stood up and started toward the stairs and Draco let out a frustrated growl.

"Daria," he groaned, as he stood up and followed her, "Don't be like that. You knew all this going in. You can't just back out now."

He grabbed her wrist and spun her around before she reached the stairs.

She glared up at him. "Can't I? I don't see why you have to be so stubborn and self-destructive. I'm not asking to induct you into the Order because I know you're too thick headed to do anything that logical. I just want to teach you how to defend yourself against your supposed allies. I could even do it separately from the D.A. so that no one would doubt that you're a sadistic wanker."

"Are you done calling me names now?" he raised an eyebrow.

"Are you done being a git?" she retorted.

"Never," he smirked halfhearted, but then looked serious again. "I'm not going to do your stupid training. I think it's reckless and irresponsible, and you'd better not get yourself expelled. As Head Girl, you're supposed to be preventing this kind of imbecility, not leading it."

Daria opened her mouth to argue but he held up his hand, silencing her.

"But," he continued, "I won't get you and your moronic, feckless friends in trouble. I think that is a huge step seeing as last time, I was on the Inquisitorial Squad."

Daria sighed and rested her hands on his shoulders before giving him a small smile but it was enough to make his heart stop. He loved it when she smiled. She idly adjusted his shirt collar while she spoke. "I guess, for now, that's enough."

He released a breath he hasn't realized he'd been holding in and smiled back. He reached up and placed his hand on her cheek before pulling her in for a kiss. She didn't push him away; instead she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer, instantly dissolving all his stress.

She wasn't going to leave him, at least not today. But why couldn't she understand how difficult this was for him and how many risks he was taking for her?

Daria didn't have anything to lose from being rebellious. She might get a detention of hanging by her fingernails in the dungeons or get expelled, but she didn't have a murderous sociopath to answer to. What if Draco were to do something stupid like join Dumbledore's Army and the Dark Lord found out? He shuttered at the thought and pulled Daria a little closer.

After a few minutes, she pulled away, much to his displeasure. "I'm going to bed. Are you coming?"

"Not now. I have to finish the prefect schedules," he sighed, cursing his head boy status for interfering with getting sex from his witch. "I'll be up later. I love you."

Draco heard the floor creak near the common room entrance. His back straightened. Was he hearing things? Had she heard it? She hadn't seemed to notice.

"I love you too," she smiled and planted a quick peck on his cheek before climbing up the stairs.

Draco watched as she went and froze when he heard another creak. He definitely hadn't imagined that one.

In one swift movement he drew his wand and turned to face the entryway.

"Show yourself," he hissed as he took a few steps closer.

He startled and slightly lowered his wand when he saw Blaise emerge from the shadowed doorway with both of his hands up in surrender.

"Evening, Draco," Blaise raise an eyebrow, "You're awfully jumpy this evening."

"How long have you been there?" Draco shot, still keeping his wand ready in case he needed to obliviate his best friend.

Blaise crossed the room and took a seat on a sofa facing Draco and propped his feet up as he watched the other boy warily. "Long enough."

Draco scowled but remained silent.

"Have I told you recently that you're a moron?"

"Not today," Draco drawled.

"Oh for Salazar's sake! Would you lower your bloody wand?" Blaise rolled his eyes. "If you were planning on hexing me then you would have done it already."

"I can't have this getting out and you of all people should know why," Draco snapped but pocketed his wand and took a seat on the couch across from Blaise.

"Relax. I'm not gonna spill the beans," Blaise shrugged, "But can I offer some friendly advice? Don't go snogging and talking about your feelings in the common room!"

"Yeah, I should definitely obliviate you," Draco grumbled.

Blaise chuckled humorlessly. "You're a real dumbass. I can't believe that you could be so selfish and put her life a risk just so you can draw this out a little longer."

"I'm being careful," Draco argued, "No one else knows."

"Luna does," Blaise interjected.

"What?" Draco furrowed his eyebrows, "How do you know that? I thought you were giving her the cold shoulder."

Blaise chewed on his cheek for a moment, trying to figure out how to answer that question. "She's been looking very vacant lately."

Draco cocked an eyebrow.

"Well more than usual," Blaise sighed, "At first I thought that the toad boy she's been seeing was treating her badly and I was fixing to break all his limbs, but then I noticed that she kept looking at you, which threw me for a complete loop, cause she's way out of your league."

Draco shot him a glare.

"But now it all makes sense. She knows that you and Daria are back together and is upset that I'm sticking to my guns and not perusing her, because I have half a brain," Blaise grumbled, "You know, this really works best if neither of us are screwing Order members."

Draco shrugged, "Perhaps you've forgotten that I'm not the one who wanted to end things. She left me. You couldn't have honestly expected me just to refuse her if she changed her mind. Just because you dumped your dewy eyed Ravenclaw doesn't mean that I want to follow in your footsteps."

Blaise shot him an annoyed look. "And you can't honestly expect me to believe that she just randomly initiated things again and threw herself at you. I bet you worked your ass off to convince her to come back."

Draco pursed his lips.

"She's far too good for you, mate," Blaise stated pointedly.

"I'm going to bed," Draco said behind gritted teeth, "Do everyone a favor and keep your big mouth shut."

Draco stood up and marched toward that stairs.

"If you do anything to get a bounty on her head, I'm gonna have to break off all your appendages," Blaise deadpanned, making Draco pause his strides and turn to raise an eyebrow.

"Why? Aren't you ignoring her?"

"For her own good," Blaise asserted, "She's still my friend though and I'm not going to let your pigheadedness and one tract mind get her killed."

Draco nodded stiffly before turning back and climbing the stairs.

He headed down the dormitory hallway, listening for any signs of his dorm mates before carefully opening Daria's door and disappearing inside.

He cast a silencing spell and locked the door before turning to look at his witch's sleeping form. Her wild, red hair was splayed over most of her pillow and part of her face.

Draco slipped his shoes off and stripped down to his boxers before he slipped under the duvet behind her.

He wrapped one arm around her waist and used to other hand to pull her curls away from her neck before trailing a few kisses along her smooth skin. She hummed happily and turned slightly to face him with a smile. "Did you finish the schedules?"

"Shit," Draco whispered making Daria chuckle, "I'll do them tomorrow."

"Then what took you so long?" she furrowed her eyebrows.

Draco bit his lip, wondering where to start. "Did you tell Lovegood about us?"

He felt her body tense in his arms. "No. She figured it out on her own. I tried to deny it but she's very good at reading people and couldn't be fooled. She won't tell anyone though. She knows how dangerous this can get from dating Blaise."

"Does anyone else know?" he pressed.

Daria shook her head. "No. Hermione suspected at one point, but after a few stabs from you in the corridors she dropped it."

Draco nodded.

"Why do you ask?" she watched him expectantly.

"Blaise saw and heard us tonight," he sighed and felt her stiffen again.

"And?" she pressed.

Draco shrugged, "Well I don't think I'm going to have to erase his memory, so that's good."

Daria bit her lip. "This doesn't change anything... Does it?"

Draco gave her a reassuring smile. "Definitely not. Don't worry, it's all taken care of, love."

Daria smiled back and reached up to give him a peck on the lips, which he immediately intensified.

She broke away and rested her head on his chest as he stroked his fingers through her hair.

"We need to be more careful though," he sighed as he rested his chin against the top of her head. "If Pansy finds out then we're going to have to off some people."

Daria chortled. "Perhaps we should start that list again."

**A/N: Apologies for taking so long with this chapter, but I did end up writing on my vacation... I just didn't get this chapter finished until the car ride home =X I blame multiple things like reading a 103 chapter long Dramione and re-reading my own story... I found a ton of typos too so I'm now working on weeding them out. Chapters 13-36 should now be typo free though =P Also, for anyone who is interested, I ended up changing Pansy to Pike in The One Where Draco Dances With A Mop because she was supposed to be working with Blaise. Also, apparently in The One With The Ring, I said that Harry was Daria's first kiss and that's rubbish, so that will be changed soon as well, just as soon as I upload the chapter again... And now I'm rambling...**

**Another fun note: I'm thinking about adding to the one shot and elaborating on Fred and Daria... but in order to do that I should really read the third book to try to find a way to add her in... and I'd need to figure out what exactly happened between her and Fred =X This could take awhile... But let me know if anyone had any other ideas for a one shot, I'd love to hear them, along with your reviews. Definitely leave plenty of those ;)**


	62. The one with muggle technology

**Listen to: 'Titanium' by David Guetta**

**I'm criticized but all your bullets ricochet. You shoot me down, but I get up.**

* * *

"Where are you going?"**  
**

Daria jumped slightly and turned to see Draco's piercing eyes staring at her in the dark from his bed.

"Out," she replied simply as she shrugged on her cloak and tucked her wand into the pocket.

She has hoped to sneak out and back in while he was asleep. It was best if he knew as few details about the D.A. as possible.

"Are you meeting with them?" he asked, his voice rich with distain.

"You know I can't tell you. You already have enough to hide from Snape," she stated, refusing to glance back at him as she headed toward the door.

She hated keeping things from him but Snape had been trying to get into his mind all week. Draco was skilled in occlumency, but the less he had to hide, the better. He already had to hide her.

"Don't go," he sighed, "You're already up to your ears in detentions from the Carrows. You can't afford to get into any more trouble. I don't want to have to watch you do this to yourself."

"I can handle the Carrows," she asserted. "I have to go, I'm already late. I'll be back before morning."

Then she slipped out into the hallway.

Daria quietly rapped on Neville's door, which was next to hers, and he immediately joined her in the dark hallway. They walked in silence down to the Gryffindor common room.

When they arrived, Daria was relieved to see that Luna was already there with Ginny. Wandering the halls in pairs was dangerous with all the resident death eaters, but doing it alone was suicide. Neville appeared to be relieved as well because he immediately pulled her into a tight embrace.

Daria and Neville had offered to meet her up at the Ravenclaw common room entrance but she had refused. It would be far too suspicious if they were all caught together.

"We need to find a better place to meet," Ginny sighed as everyone sat down. Neville kept one arm around Luna as he sat down beside her.

"What about the Room of Requirements?" Luna suggested with her usual dreamy smile.

Daria shook her head. "Remember last time? Umbridge and her cronies were able to break in. I wouldn't put it past the Carrows to do the same."

"I think I might have found a way past that," Neville stated nervously. "I've been spending a lot of time up there lately and I've discovered something that I think can help us. I can't tell you guys about it here but meet me in front of the room tomorrow at dinner and I'll show you."

The three girls nodded in agreement.

"Are we sure this is a good idea?" Ginny asked unsurely, turning to Daria. "Did Harry say anything before he left?"

Daria lifted her chin confidently. "Yes he did, Ginny. Harry told me, in no uncertain terms, that we should get Dumbledore's Army back together."

Ginny looked at her suspiciously but didn't question it, not wanting to push her luck that the older redhead had finally dropped the nicknames.

"Well that settles it then," Luna smiled. "We should probably be getting back to our dorms though before someone notices we're missing."

"Do you want us to walk you back?" Neville offered.

Luna shook her head. "I'll be alright. I'll see you guys tomorrow," she smiled before hurrying out of the portrait hole.

Neville glanced back at Daria, "Are you ready?"

Daria nodded and followed him out, only to freeze in her tracks at the sight of Blaise standing a few feet away.

The Slytherin raised an eyebrow and approached them. "What are you two doing out?"

Daria quickly glanced around for Luna but didn't see her anywhere nearby. Had she managed to slip past him?

"Patrolling," Neville answered shortly.

"Neither of you are on the schedule tonight," Blaise stated, "And even if you were, you two aren't supposed to be patrolling together."

"Malfoy changed the schedule," Daria answered, daring him to argue.

He looked at her suspiciously.

"Last time I checked, I was Head Girl," Daria shot, "I don't have to answer to you."

She glanced back at Neville who was grinning broadly. "Come on, Neville."

The two Gryffindors brushed past Blaise, who appeared to be biting his tongue, and hurried back to the prefect dorms.

Blaise watched them curiously as they left. Surely Daria had been lying. Him and Malfoy had been given specific orders from Snape to not let any of the former D.A. members patrol together. Was Draco really going to stand idly by while the D.A. regrouped? Didn't he realize how much danger that would put Daria in?

"That was awfully nice of you," a far too familiar voice stated from behind him. He tensed involuntarily before turning back to look at the dewy eyed Ravenclaw.

"To let them go, that is," she smiled sweetly, making his heart thud painfully, "Instead of turning them into the Carrows."

Blaise steeled his features and tried sooth the pounding in his chest. "They had an excuse. You, however, definitely aren't supposed to be roaming the corridors at night. Get back to your common room."

"Thank you, Blaise," she smiled but it didn't reach her eyes. He clenched his jaw to keep all the words he had bottled up inside from spilling out, and instead nodded stiffly.

She watched him for another moment before turning and skipping away.

_It's better this way, _he reminded himself._ She's safe. I won't be as selfish and careless as Draco. I won't put her in danger. It's better if she's with that oaf of a Gryffindor. Not me..._

Blaise waited for a few seconds until she was out of sight before following after her. The least he could do was make sure she didn't run into any more death eaters tonight.

* * *

Daria took her seat next to Neville in her most hated class, Muggle Studies. Her schedule had gotten all fucked up once Snape took over and now she was forced to be subjected to those awful Carrows for several hours a day.

Neville gave her a small smile as she sat down and she returned it before pulling out one of her invisible ear buds and tucking it into her ear. Usually the music helped her tune out all the crap that spewed from Alecto Carrow's mouth, like that muggle blood was akin to having 'shite fo blood,' and her theory that if she drained Daria of half of her body's blood that Daria would be 'clean,' albeit dead.

Daria glanced up as Draco passed by and took a seat a few desks away. She noticed that he never sat far from her in either of the Carrows' classes... but it's not like he'd ever actually do anything, so his proximity seemed unnecessary.

"Git out ya books!" Professor Carrow shouted as she got up from her desk and marched to the front of the classroom.

Daria pulled out the makeshift book she had received last week when she was forcefully inducted into this class. She assumed that it was something Carrow had written herself since it was filled to the brim with rubbish.

"Today we ah gonna talk about those ridiculous inventions tha' those filthy muggales call 'technolojay'," she sneered.

Daria stiffed a chuckle. Alecto Carrow was almost as fun to imitate as Snape, with her deep accent and mispronunciation of words. Her and Neville had spend countless hours in the prefect common room, making fun of the Carrows.

Neville quickly elbows her in the side and she noticed Draco's grey eyes glaring back at her. Apparently she hadn't been as successful at hiding her amusement as she had hoped.

"Somethin' funnay, McVey?!" Carrow's yelled. Her face was so hard that Daria thought she might be about to break some of her teeth from clenching her jaw so hard.

Daria shook her head but couldn't suppress her smile due to the look Carrow was giving her.

"I bet ya'd know all about muggale technolojay. Wouldn't ya, McVey? Wha' with ya motha being a blood traita, an' all," she smiled angrily.

Did she really think bad mouthing Daria's mother would upset her?

_Ha! She has another thing coming_.

"Guess I would," Daria smiled cheerfully, "I think muggles are just fascinating. That's why I'm taking this class."

Alecto sneered and Daria could feel Draco's glare on her again, but she kept her eyes on the professor.

"McVey, come ta the front of the class," Carrow snapped roughly.

Daria rolled her eyes and went to stand up, but forgot that her disillusioned ipod was still on her lap and shuttered as it fell to the floor with a clatter.

Alecto turned ten shades of red with anger as she flicked her wand and summoned the source of the disruption, removing the invisibility charm.

Daria carefully continued to the front of the classroom as the professor examined the ipod.

"Wha's this then?" she barked, holding the ipod out in front of Daria's face, "Some o' that stupid muggale technolojay?"

Daria snorted again at the way Alecto mispronounced technology before smirking at her. "I don't know. You're the muggle studies professor. Shouldn't you know?"

"Is this how ya've been communicatin' with Potta?" she demanded, "I'll have ta turn this inta Snape. I bet it's filled with secrets about the Orda."

Daria sniggered. "You caught me. Next we'll have our own secret radio station."

Carrow looked as if should could kill and drew her wand. "Crucio!"

Daria bit down on her tongue to try to keep from crying out in pain as she fell into her knees. It felt like a thousand knifes were carving up her flesh like it was a jack o' lantern.

_Aw fuck. Isn't it over yet?_

Pain.

She felt something cold against her cheek and realized that she must be on the floor.

Pain

_Wouldn't it be less painful if she just set me on fire?_

Pain.

She could taste blood. Was the spell causing physical damage to her? Oh right, she must have bitten her tongue too hard.

Pain.

_Am I going to die?_

Pain.

She could hear screaming bouncing around her eardrums and realized that is was her own voice making the noise.

Slowly, she felt the spell lift and she panted hard as she continued lying on the floor.

She felt Alecto nudge her ribs with her shoe. "Git up!" she commanded, "I'm not through with ya."

"Professor, it's just a muggle music device," she heard a voice argue. She recognized it as Neville and prayed that he'd just shut up. He didn't need to get into trouble too. "It can't be used for communication. You of all people should know that. You are the 'Muggale Stoodies' teacher after all."

Daria tried to release an annoyed sighed but she was too short on air. Neville might as well have called Carrow's mother a cow, it would have been less offensive.

"Longbottom! Git down 'ere as well. Ya can share the halfblood's punishment," she shot, motioning for him with her wand. "And yoo," she snapped at Daria, "Git up!"

Daria took a deep breath and climbed back up to a standing position, being sure to raise her chin defiantly. She shot a glance in Draco's direction as Neville made his way to the front of the classroom. Draco wasn't facing her; instead he was glaring down at his desk and trying to look uninterested in the scene before him. She understood why, he couldn't blow his cover, but it still hurt. Though, not as much as...

_Oh shit!_

Daria crumbled back onto the ground as she felt the cruciatus curse hit her again.

* * *

Daria slowly walked along the corridors toward the Room of Requirement, being careful not to twist her sore muscles the wrong way.

Alecto had been really angry today due to Daria using a muggle device and Daria couldn't remember ever having a punishment that severe. It had gone on for the enter class period and she had thought that she was going to pass out... She wished she had passed out.

Daria spotted Draco up ahead, talking to Blaise, and felt her heart start fluttering. She could really use a hug, maybe a kiss, right about now. Today had been so horrible.

As she neared them, she realized that their conversation was nowhere near a close but she didn't really care. Blaise already knew, right? What would he care?

Draco shot her a suspicious look as she walked up to him and grabbed his arm, before dragging him toward an empty classroom.

"What are you doing?" he hissed as he tried to remove her hand.

"I'll give him back in just a minute, Zabini," Daria stated before she pulled Draco into the classroom and closed the door.

"What the hell, Daria?" he growled with a glare, "Are you trying to get us caught? We can't just go sneaking around in broad daylight! I'm about to go see Snape about you getting caught last night and I don't need to be thinking about you while he's fishing around in my brain."

Daria frowned. Had Blaise ratted her out?

"Didn't think I'd find out about that, huh?" he snapped, "Did you not realize that Snape had been searching Blaise's memory too? He's not very skilled at occlumency and can only hide so much. Now I have to go explain to Snape why I scheduled you and Longbottom to patrol together."

"Just tell him that we lied," Daria shrugged, "That's the truth."

Draco shook his head, "And watch you get cruciated again? I don't think so. What were you thinking today? Why not leave the snide comments to Longbottom? There's no reason for you to act like an idiot as well. Don't you understand that you can't win? Damnit, Daria! You can't do shit like that!"

"You've seen how that woman treats me," Daria glared, "She treats me like I'm dirt. Of course, I'm going to make snide comments. That woman deserves to be punched."

"That woman deserves to be killed," Draco corrected, "But you making snarky remarks isn't going to change anything."

Daria opened her mouth to argue but he cut her off.

"I have to go. Snape's expecting me," he stated as he placed his hand on the doorknob. Daria leaned forward to kiss him but he stepped away.

"Try not to do anything else stupid today," he added harshly before opening the door and slamming it behind him, making Daria flinch.

_That could have gone better._

Daria sighed before she exited the classroom and made her way to the seventh floor.

When she arrived at the entrance of the Room of Requirement she saw Ginny waiting outside.

"There you are!" Ginny exclaimed, "We were beginning to think you weren't coming."

"Sorry," Daria mumbled, "I got held up. Is everyone else already inside?"

"Oh yeah, _everyone_ is here," Ginny replied, making Daria raise any eyebrow. "Come on, I'll show you."

Ginny walked in front of the wall three times before the door appeared and the two girls entered.

Daria felt her jaw drop when she saw the room was filled with all the former D.A. members that were still at school, along with several new ones.

"Daria!" Neville called as he approached her with a grin, "Isn't this great?"

Daria looked around at the unfamiliar room and raised an eyebrow. "What did you think to get in here?"

"I just wanted a place that no one who is loyal to the Carrows can enter and this room appeared," he explained, "It's got everything we could possibly need incase any of us need to lay low, and check this out—"

He led her over to one of the walls to a table covered with odd-looking gadgets.

"You gave me the idea for this," he smiled proudly.

Daria looked curiously at the unfamiliar devices. "What is it?"

Neville's face fell slightly. "It's equipment for broadcasting radio signals. I figured you of all people would know that."

Daria picked up a pair of rather gawdy headphones and turned them over in her hand. "This must be wizarding equipment. I'm only familiar with muggle things."

"Well I'm sure you'll pick it up quickly enough," Neville encouraged, "We're going to be one of the broadcasting locations for Potterwatch."

Daria again quirked any eyebrow, "Potter-what?"

Ginny sighed, startling Daria with her appearance. "Honestly, Daria, don't you keep up with the war effort at all?"

Daria shot her a glare.

"Potterwatch is a pirate radio program hosted by some of the Order members to share the information that the ministry is trying to keep under wraps," Neville explained, "And they want you to help them."

Daria stared at the radio equipment unsurely. "I don't knew, Neville. I'm already going to be swamped with our defensive training and detentions and Head Girl duties. And if the Order members broadcast it, then how am I going to help?"

"Oh, that's my next surprise," Neville grinned, "Come on."

Neville motioned for Daria and Ginny to follow him and he headed over to another wall that held a large picture with a ladder propped up next to it.

"You know how Snape closed off all the secret passageways when he took over?" Neville asked as he started climbing up the ladder.

Daria and Ginny both nodded in reply.

"Well now we have another one," Neville beamed as he grabbed the edge of the painting and swung it open like a door.

Daria heard Ginny gasp as a tunnel was revealed and two tall redheads stepped out into the room, and one of them immediately looked to Daria and flashed her his playful million-dollar smile, making her heart skip a beat.

_Fred..._

* * *

**A/N: Don't you just hate cliffhangers? =P Next chapter I'll elaborate a little more and finally tell you about what happened between Daria and Fred.**

**I tried to give Alecto a funny accent but I'm afraid she just sounds British =/ Hopefully not.**

**I hate that this chapter took me so long... those damn Dramionies will be the end of me but luckily I think I have all of the highest rated ones read now. If any of you haven't read any of these then you should because they are all amazing:**

**Isolation by Bex-chan**

**Turncoat by elizaye**

**The Bracelet by AkashaTheKitty**

**Silencio by AkashaTheKitty**

**Next chapter may be awhile because I need to start skimming through the third book in order to write part of it, but hopefully it will still be a faster update than the last two chapters.**

**Thanks for all the reviews and I can't wait to hear more of them... remember that I write faster when I get lots of reviews (I really do... you should give it a try).**


	63. The one with beetle soup

**A/N: So I've decided to show Daria and Fred's history with a series of flashbacks over the next several chapters. Once I have them all completed, I'll combine them as a chapter in 'Don't Say We're Not Meant To Be' for future reference. I'm reading through The Prisoner of Azkaban as I write them to try to make them go along with the story line but don't chastise me if the details aren't exact because that severely limits my creativity.**

**Flashback to the summer before 3rd year**

_Daria sat Indian style on the grass in the middle of her backyard, polishing her new Nimbus 2001. Her mother had purchased it for her that summer after finding out that Daria had made her house's quidditch team. At first Fauna hadn't been thrilled about her daughter playing for the Gryffindor team, since her family had been in Slytherin for centuries, but had finally decided that she wouldn't have her daughter be seen on one of the school's old Cleansweeps. Daria tried not to be bogged down by the fact that she had the same type of broom as all the members of the Slytherin team. She was sure this was no coincidence, her mom had surely heard about Lucius Malfoy's generous donation._

_Daria jumped when she heard a loud thump next to her and looked to see a large grey owl lying on the ground. She raised an eyebrow and cautiously poked it with her index finger, causing it to startle and hop back into its feet. The sudden movement made Daria let out a surprised gasp and scoot away a few inches._

_Once the owl was upright she immediately recognized it as the owl that always delivered Ron's letters, Errol. _

_Daria smiled as she untied the letter on Errol's leg and scratched his head affectionately before he flew off again in a zig-zag flight pattern, narrowly missing a light post._

_Daria examined the letter and immediately realized that it wasn't addresses in Ron's familiar, messy scrawl. She felt her heart jump up into her throat. It couldn't be from him, could it?_

_She hurriedly tore open the envelope and pulled out the parchment inside, scanning over the writing._

'Red,

We just got back from Egypt this morning and it was a blast. I thought about you a lot, especially when George and I put beetles in Bill's soup. It was even funnier than the time you did it to Goyle. We should really use your suggestions more often; they are bloody brilliant.

All of us are going to go to Diagon Alley tomorrow. Ron already let Harry and Hermione know, so they should be there too. We'd all love to see you there as well, especially me.'

_Daria couldn't remember how to breathe._

'Try to talk your mom into letting you come alone. I know how she feels about us 'blood traitors.' We'll be at the Leaky Cauldron at ten.

Hope you can make it.

Fred

P.S. – Sorry it's such short notice. Ron sent a letter to Harry and Errol didn't find his way back for a bloody week'

_Daria felt her grin start consuming her face. Fred wanted to meet her at Diagon Alley... not Ron... Fred. She held back a girly squeal as it bubbled up into her throat._

_She had had a crush on Fred since... well she couldn't even remember... probably since first year? She loved the twins endlessly, but Fred had always gone out of his way to be nice to her and he always knew just what to say or do to make her smile. Ron may have been her best friend, since he was in her year and she saw him all the time, but if she was in the twin's year then she was sure their possibilities for mischief would be endless._

_Daria carefully tucked the letter into her pocket and hurried inside to try to convince her warden to let her go._

**End Flashback**

She hadn't seen him in almost 2 years. The last time she had seen him, he was setting off a glorious display of fireworks in the Great Hall with George. But there he was, standing a few feet in front of her, smiling at her like not a day had passed since they had been joined at the hip... and it terrified her.

_Draco should have kissed me._

"Hey, Red," he beamed before he took one long stride forward and lifted her up, spinning her around in a tight embrace. She squealed in surprise and giggled like she was in third year again.

Fred set her down and looked down at her, still grinning wildly. "It's been too long. I was beginning to wonder if Ron had pitched you off the Astronomy Tower or something."

Daria chuckled airily. "You missed me over the summer. I spent a whole week at the Burrow. You should have stopped by."

"Well no one bothered to tell me!" he exclaimed, pretending to be very put out, "I would have made my personal assistant, Georgie, here run the store so I could come pester you."

"Oh please," George rolled his eyes as he moved away from Ginny toward them, "Everyone knows I'm the brains of the company."

"Perhaps. But I'm the better looking one," Fred winked, "Don't you think so, Daria?"

"Am I invisible over here?" Ginny asked, causing Fred to glance back at her, "I'm just your sister, don't mind me."

Fred chuckled as he walked over to hug his sister. "But I just saw you over Christmas break. I haven't seen Red over here in half a lifetime. She's been avoiding me."

"Have not!" Daria argued, but he ignored her.

"It's good to see you, Daria," George smiled politely as he gave Daria a one armed hug.

"You too, George," she smiled back as he released her.

George had always been very reserved around her, compared to Fred who was very in-your-face and flirty. She had seen George around other people and he seemed just as outgoing as Fred so she had a sneaking suspicion that he wasn't too fond of her.

"Daria, we should probably get things started," Neville suggested and Daria nodded in agreement.

"We were thinking that you could lead things," Ginny added, unsurely, "Since you were part of the Golden Trio and all."

_Were?_ Daria felt her stomach churn uneasily.

"I don't know," Daria grimaced, "I'm not too great at public speaking and I don't know nearly as much as Harry did."

"Well, you're the best that we've got," Ginny replied. Daria wasn't sure if that was supposed to be a compliment or a complaint.

"You'll do fine," Fred reassured as he grabbed her hand and gave it a comforting squeeze.

Daria glanced down at their hands cautiously.

_Why does Draco have to be such a prick? Why does he have to a death eater? Why can't he be—_

"Go on, Daria," Luna smiled, magically appearing beside Neville. "Why don't you start with a simple spell? Maybe a shield?"

Daria nodded before she released Fred's hand and made he way to the front of the crowd.

* * *

Daria and Neville quietly tiptoed down the hall of the prefect dorms to their bedrooms. They said goodbye at Neville's door before he went inside and Daria continued down to her own room.

She closed the door behind her and didn't bother turning the lights on as she pulled off her robe and shoes.

"You were out late," she heard a familiar voice drawl.

Daria glanced up to shoot a glare at the blond on her bed before heading over to her dresser to get her pajamas. "Go away. I'm mad at you."

She could still feel his eyes on her as she unbuttoned her uniform shirt. "Oh don't worry I'm mad at you too," he sneered as he continued to watch her.

"Then, get out," she stated pointedly as she pulled an oversized t-shirt out of her drawer and slipped it on.

"Is that mine?" he furrowed his eyebrows when he noticed the Slytherin emblem on her shirt.

She rolled her eyes at his sudden change of topic. Couldn't the boy take a hint?

"No, I stole it from my other Slytherin lover as a trophy. I have quite the collection. My favorites are the Hufflepuff shirts," she shot as she started climbing into bed. "Move over."

He didn't budge. Instead, he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her onto his lap. He pulled her close and nuzzled his face under her jaw. "How many of my shirts have you stolen?"

"Didn't I tell you to go away?" she sighed but was losing the will to fight with him as his mouth started doing amazing things to the skin under her earlobe. She unwillingly let out a small gasp as his teeth found her pulse point.

"Are you still mad at me?" he smirked as he brought his face up to look at hers.

Daria nodded her head fervently, "Yes. Very angry."

"That's nice," he grinned mischievously before he captured her lips in a heated kiss and pushed her down onto the bed.

**A/N: Now I know what you're thinking... 'Why is this chapter so short?!' But it's actually not that short. You're just used to my mammoth, over 3000 words chapters. My usual chapters are between 1000 and 2000 words and this one is about 1500. I could have made it longer by including the actual DA meeting, but that's not the kind of stuff I enjoy writing about so I chose not to. If you feel robbed, then you could always go read some of HP5 to get your defensive training fix.**

**As previously stated, I write faster when I get more reviews. I think this fast update proves that since last chapter got *goes to check* six reviews already. I just love reviews =) So send me some more and I'll get to work on the next chapter.**


	64. The one with the red sparks

**Flashback**

_Daria grabbed her wand and tip toed out of her room and down the stairs._

_Her mother had banned her from going to Diagon Alley alone because she rightly suspected that Daria was planning on meeting her friends. So Daria was breaking out._

_She made it to the fireplace and stopped to listen for any signs that she might have woken her mother, but the old house was silent._

_Daria grabbed a handful of floo powder and stepped into the fireplace._

_"Diagon Alley," Daria whispered, before throwing down the powder and disappearing into the flames._

_She appeared in the fireplace at the Leaky Cauldron and dusted off her muggle clothes as she stepped out._

_Daria glanced up at a large clock on the wall and saw that she still had a few hours before the Weasleys showed up, so she decided to go browse some of the shops. She had already purchased all of her school supplies with her mother a few weeks ago._

_Her first stop was the broom store to do a bit of perusing and to find out what kind of brooms she'd be competing against this year in quidditch._

_When she entered the store, the window display immediately caught her attention. She gaped at the beautiful Firebolt. She had seen it in an article in the Daily Prophet earlier that summer but didn't expect to see it on the shelves this quickly._

_"Bit pricey for you? Eh, McVey?"_

_Daria didn't even have to turn her head to recognize the familiar Slytherin voice, so she didn't._

_"Didn't your mother lose all her inheritance when she married that muggle? Looks like you're stuck with the Cleansweep again this year," he stated smugly._

_Daria's face was void of emotion as she ran her fingers over the sleek Firebolt handle. "Actually, I got a new Nimbus over the summer."_

_He flinched slightly at her quick response, making a small smile creep onto her lips._

_"Shouldn't you be off harassing first years? Or is it too difficult without your two goons?" she asked as she finally turned to look at him and for a moment, she was taken back by him._

_Draco had changed over the summer... a lot. His platinum blond hair was no longer slicked back and stiff; instead, it hung loosely above his eyebrows. His face was slightly more defined, but it had always been pointed and chiseled, and he had definitely grown a few inches by the way he towered over her._

_Draco shrugged. "They're too hard to identify the little buggers before they've been sorted. How am I to know if they'll be put in Slytherin or not?"_

_"The horns should be a dead give away," Daria shot with a playful smile._

_"Guess I'll just have to settle for pestering you," he smirked, ignoring her comment._

_"I feel so special," Daria rolled her eyes before moving over to the gloves section. He followed her._

_She picked up a pair of dragon hide chaser gloves and tried them on._

_"You should try unicorn hair. It's more durable," he stated._

_She raised her eyebrow. "What? Are you an expert on chaser equipment now or something?"_

_"I just thought it might help since my team seems to target you specifically. It can really protect from bludgers," he stated with a shrug._

_Daria picked up a pair of the unicorn hair gloves and examined them. "I should really invest in a unicorn hair helmet then."_

_He snorted and she turned to look at him curiously before he covered it with a look of indifference. "It's probably because of your hair. It's like waving a red cape in front of a bull."_

_"You know that's a muggle thing right?" she cocked an eyebrow and smiled in amusement at the look of repulsion on his face._

_"Red! There you are!"_

_Daria and Draco both looked up to see two tall redheads coming their way, one waving very enthusiastically._

_Daria grinned broadly and waved back before she felt Fred's arms lock around her in a bone-crushing hug. _

_As he released her, she glanced back to see that Draco had disappeared. She momentarily started thinking about batman before George snapped her out of her thoughts. "Trying to find some full body gear?"_

_Daria chuckled. "No, just some new gloves. Mine got the stuffing kicked out of them last season. Those Slytherin beaters are relentless."_

_"Well, that's what you got us for," Fred grinned. "Just as long as Harry doesn't get attacked by a possessed bludger again this year, then you should be in the clear."_

_"Well that still leaves Flint to contend with," Daria pointed out as she took the unicorn hair gloves to the check out counter. "So what's the plan for today, boys?"_

_Daria paid and turned to see that now only Fred was with her and wondered why everyone kept disappearing today... Not that she was complaining._

_"Oh, I've got a few ideas up my sleeves," Fred grinned as he showed her a handful of magical firecrackers._

_Daria beamed. "You know me so well."_

_Daria and Fred hurried out of the broom store and scanned the street for their first victim._

"_Fred!"_

_Both of them looked up as Molly Weasley bustled toward them with Ginny and Percy in tow._

"_There you are! You and George were supposed to help us with the school shopping," Mrs. Weasley scolded before she noticed Daria. She smiled and pulled Daria into a hug. "Oh Daria, its so good to see you again, dear."_

"_You too, Mrs. Weasley," Daria smiled when she was finally released._

"_Well I suppose I can let you off the hook this time since Daria is here," Molly told Fred. "Where's your brother?"_

_Fred pointed a finger at Percy. "His highness is right over there."_

"_You know I was talking about George," Mrs. Weasley shot._

"_Haven't seen him," Fred shrugged, "Maybe he's hiding in Percy's big hat."_

"_Never mind," Molly sighed. "Come on, Ginny, Percy."_

_Fred watched as part of his family walked away, and Daria watched as a mischievous grin spread across his face as soon as his mother's back was turned._

_When they were a few feet away, Fred quickly snuck up and dropped a firecracker in Percy's hood, before scurrying back to Daria's side._

"_You know what to do," he nodded to her when Percy was several yards away._

"_I can't even see it," Daria argued, "And he's pretty far away now."_

"_That way he won't suspect us," Fred smiled as he looked down into her eyes. "I know you can do it, Red."_

_Daria blushed and quickly looked away, making him chuckle, before she turned to look at Percy's retreating form and focused on his cloak hood. She tried to visualize the firecracker but it was hard since it was tucked so deeply inside of his hood, so when she snapped her fingers to try to light it, his whole hood caught fire._

_Percy shrieked loudly and started smacking himself on the back to try to put out the flames before a burst of red sparks started shooting up behind his head._

_Daria giggled at the sight before her and looked over to see that Fred was literally on the ground._

_Daria watched as Mrs. Weasley helped Percy get his cloak off and put out the flames, before she turned to Fred and reached out a hand to help him up._

"_Any particular reason we're picking on Percy today?" Daria laughed as he grabbed her hand and pulled himself back up._

"_Didn't you hear?" Fred grinned, "Percy is Head Boy this year."_

_Daria grinned back and tried not to overanalyze the fact that he was still holding onto her hand._

**End Flashback**

"Daria?"

Daria jumped slightly as a hand waved in front of her face, before focusing on the two boys beside her.

"Sorry, what?" she asked as she tried to remember what they had been talking about.

"We were just trying to figure out what your Potterwatch name could be," Lee Jordan reminded her. "It has to begin with an 'R'."

"And I told you, she already has a nickname that begins with an 'R'," Fred replied.

"Yeah but it's a little obvious isn't it?" Lee asked, "I mean look at her hair. Not to mention that half of the school has surely heard you call her Red."

"Well if they went to Hogwarts then they'll probably be able to identify her by her voice anyways," Fred shrugged, "And her hair isn't how she got the name. That'd be a little hypocritical don't ya think?"

Lee raised an eyebrow. "Care to elaborate?"

"Love to," Fred grinned as he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a small disk with a short, string attached.

He nodded to Daria before he tossed it high into the air. She focused on it for a second before snapping her fingers and the firecracker exploded into a shower of red sparks.

"Neat party trick," Lee shrugged, "But I don't get it."

Fred clicked his tongue and continued to stare at the dissipating sparks. "It's always red."

"Always," Daria agreed.

"Even the ones a made myself. It doesn't matter what color they are supposed to be; if she lights them, they're red," Fred stated.

"I'm more amazed that she can start fires without a wand," Lee replied as he watched Daria curiously.

"Pyromaniac," Daria smiled evilly, "I haven't done it year though."

"You're not still upset that you almost burned down the potions classroom, now are you?" Fred chuckled.

Daria nodded. "I've never seen flames act like that. That's what I get for trying to heat a potion without a wand."

"What about Rebel?" Lee suggested, going back to the nickname conversation.

"Eh," Fred shook his head, "We can do better than that."

Both boys were silent for a moment in thought while Daria examined some of the radio equipment.

"Renegade!" Fred nearly shouted, making Daria and Lee startle.

"Renegade?" Daria questioned.

Fred nodded. "Didn't you just finish telling me yesterday that you ran away from home because your mother is a death eater?"

Daria nodded.

"Renegade," Lee repeated, "I like it."

Daria shrugged. "I'm hardly an outlaw."

"You are now," Fred smiled. "Are you not the leader of Dumbledore's Army and helping run an illegal radio station?"

Daria smiled halfheartedly. "I guess."

"And we're going live in three, two," Lee mouthed one and Daria flipped on the equipment.

"Good evening listeners and welcome to Potterwatch. Today I'm joined by Rapier and Renegade to give you the latest, up-to-date news on the situation at Hogwarts."

**A/N: OMG you all are amazing! Ten reviews! Ten! That's the same amount as the most reviewed chapter (chapter 50). Thank you all so much for the words of praise. I love hearing what everyone thinks of my work; it's my only form of payment.**

**I know that the actual RL part of the chapter was really short but I had to cram in a huge flashback. I know parts of it were a little unnecessary but I couldn't help but include Draco in at least one flashback. He is the male lead after all ;) Plus I wanted to show you how him and Daria would have interacted before 6****th**** year when he started picking on her. I also wanted to add some about Daria's skill with fire. I really should have thought to introduce it sooner in the story, but I did include it in 'Don't Say We're Not Meant To Be.' That counts right?**

**Don't ask me where George went because I don't know. There is no hidden plot there, I just needed rid of him but didn't want Fred to have just been wandering around Diagon Alley alone. He didn't go off to some magical place and create a plot twist... he probably just went to get ice cream =P**

**And I will end this rambling author note with this: Cause and effect people. I got more reviews, I updated faster. You should keep that up ;)**


	65. The one with the second date

**Listen to: 'What if the storm ends' by Snow Patrol**

**What if the storm ends and I don't see you as you are now ever again?**

* * *

Daria begrudgingly took her assigned seat, next to Theodore Nott, in Dark Arts. She pulled out the other book she'd had thrown at her a few weeks ago. This one was also full of rubbish; much like the Slytherin next to her. He had actually seemed to enjoy himself last week when Amycus Carrow had used the Cruciatus curse on a group of first year Hufflepuffs as a demonstration.

Daria hadn't realized that she had been glaring at Nott until he looked up and sneered at her.

"What are you looking at, halfblood bitch?" he snapped, "You should be grateful to even be allowed in school."

"But imagine how much this place would stink if they only let assholes in," Daria feigned an innocent look.

He scowled. "You're comebacks are old and overused."

"Oh I can do better," Daria smiled sweetly, "Would you prefer to be a called a cunt or a twat?"

"McVey!"

Daria glanced up to see that Professor Carrow was glaring at her. "I won't tolerate that kind of language in my class. Fifty points from Gryffindor."

"Oh please," Daria sneered, "He's says worse things all the time – to me – in this classroom!"

"Do we need to learn how not to backtalk again," Carrow shot as he pulled out his wand and aimed it at her.

Daria rolled her eyes but didn't argue.

"That's what I thought," Carrow smiled smugly. "Today you will be practicing the art of dueling. You can use any spells that you want, although unforgivables are preferred," he announced, before he waved his wand, making all the desks disappear so there would be enough room.

Daria sighed and pulled out her wand as her and Nott separated a few feet.

"You ready for this, halfblood?" he smirked.

"Do your worst, twat," Daria smiled back, causing his eyes to flicker with anger.

"Imperio!" "Protego!"

Nott's spell bounced off her shield and flew right back at him. He quickly jumped out the way.

"Expelliarmus!" Daria shot, but Nott blocked it as he straightened himself back up and aimed at her.

"Crucio!"

Daria fell to the floor, narrowly missing the blast. "Stupify!"

Her spell whizzed right past his head, if she hadn't been thrown off by being on the floor, it would have hit him.

Nott looked even angrier. "Crucio!"

Daria cast a shield charm before firing back. "Densaugeo!"

That one hit and Daria grinned as Nott's two front teeth started to swell to the size of a beaver's.

Daria chuckled up at him, which earned her a glare, before he pointed his wand at her again

"Crucio! Crucio! Crucio! Crucio!"

Daria rolled around on the floor, narrowly missing each of his curses. This only angered him more. "Avada kedavra!"

Daria's eyes widened as she saw the jet of green light shoot toward her and jumped backward, but she wasn't quick enough.

Suddenly, the spell rebounded and Nott had to drop to the ground to avoid getting hit by it himself.

"That's enough!" Draco barked as he came to stand in front of Daria, his shield charm still in place.

Daria furrowed her eyebrows. He had been several yards away, not nearly close enough to reach her and put up a shield in time. He had to have come during Nott's string of crucio's.

"Mr. Malfoy! What is the meaning of this?!" Professor Carrow shouted as he approached the group.

"Sorry professor, but I don't think that Theo, here, should be killing off students," Draco snapped, still glaring down at Nott.

"Perhaps you missed the part where I told the class that unforgivables were preferred? Besides, it's only a little halfblood. Why does it matter if she dies? There are plenty more of them," Carrow retorted, with a dismissive wave of his hand.

"It was uncalled for," Draco argued.

"Well you can let Headmaster Snape decide that," Carrow spat, "Report to his office immediately. I'm sure he'll be sourly disappointed with his Head Boy."

Draco nodded stiffly. "Yes, sir."

"And take the halfblood back to her dorm. I'm sick of looked at her," Carrow added before turning to Nott, whose teeth were now down to his belt. "Nott, you should go to the hospital wing. See if Madam Pomfrey can't fix your teeth."

Draco reached down and grabbed Daria by the arm before pulling her up roughly and leading her out of the classroom.

He led her down several corridors and pulled her into the prefect common room. He didn't release her until they were both inside her bedroom.

He let go of her arm, locked the door, and put up a silencing spell before he sighed and ran his hands through his hair. "What have a done?"

Daria approached him, cautiously, and placed a hand on his arm, but he pulled away from her.

"Why didn't I listen to Blaise? I'm so stupid! Why couldn't I have just left you alone?" he growled as he started messaging the bridge of his nose.

"Draco..." she whispered and tried to reach for him again, but he continued to evade her.

"You should have gone with Potter. You shouldn't be here," he snapped, turning to glare at her.

"I'm here for a reason," she reminded softly. "Don't you think I knew how dangerous it'd be to stay here?"

"Oh yes, I forgot," he rolled his eyes, "Dumbledore has you on some top secret mission."

Daria nodded, choosing not to be offended by his tone.

Draco buried his face in his hands and groaned loudly. "I've really fucked up big time... He's gonna kill me."

Daria frowned as she watched him pace. "I can get us out of here. The Order can protect you. Surely they could protect your family as well... if they would be willing, that is."

"I've already told you no," he growled, "I can't just run away from this."

"Draco, we—"

"Just stop!" he snapped, looking up angrily at her. "I don't want to hear anymore. I'll just have to live with the consequences."

"Draco! Don't you understand?! We could both be safe!"

He silenced her by crashing his lips onto hers.

Daria frowned against his kiss. Why did he always have to be so stubborn? Why couldn't he see that she could fix all of this? Hell, she had a bloody tunnel right out of Hogwarts!

He pulled away and stared at her, pensively, for a moment, before he moved toward the door. "Stay here and don't do anything stupid while I'm with Snape. I'll be back soon and maybe you can try to convince me some more."

Daria's heart leap. He was going to consider it?

She reached out and grabbed his arm as he grabbed for the doorknob.

"I love you," she smiled.

Draco gave her a half smile back. "I love you too."

He opened the door slightly, but quickly turned to face her again. "Don't. Leave." he reminded, sternly, before he slipped through the doorway and closed it behind him.

* * *

Daria idly fiddled with her emerald necklace while glaring up at her dark ceiling.

_Where the hell is he?_

She glanced over at her clock to see that it was midnight. He had gone to meet with Snape ten hours ago. He should be back by now.

_Screw it. I'm not staying here any longer._

Daria climbed out of bed, grabbed her wand, and slipped out into the dark hallway.

She slithered over to his door and turned the unlocked doorknob, pulling it open.

"Lumos," she whispered, and she sighed in disappointment when she saw his bed was empty.

Daria froze when she heard laughing coming from the common room and quickly extinguished her light.

She tip toed over to the banister and glanced down at the room below. She instantly spotted Blaise and Nott taking up both sofas, but no Draco. She momentarily contemplated going to check the Slytherin common room, but it would have been impossible for her to get past the two Slytherins unnoticed, and Draco wouldn't have been down there without them anyways. She highly doubted that'd he go seek out Crabbe and Goyle for company.

Daria retreated back to Draco's doorway and paused as she passed by the door that read:

'_Pansy Parkinson, Slytherin Prefect'_

She nervously chewed on her lip as she examined the door.

_No. He wouldn't_, she reassured herself, before she slipped into his vacant room and closed the door.

Daria pulled off her robes and stole another one of his t-shirts from his dresser as a nightgown. She crawled under the green sheets and snuggled her face into his pillow, breathing in his scent, before drifting off into a dream filled sleep.

**Flashback**

"_Daria..."_

_Daria groaned and rolled over in her bed._

"_Daria..."_

"_Humph."_

"_Daria..."_

"_Go away, Hermione," Daria mumbled into her pillow._

_Daria shot up when she heard masculine chuckling and opened her mouth to scream when she saw a tall, dark figure looming over her._

_A warm hand quickly covered her mouth, muffling her scream. "Daria, relax. It's me, Fred."_

"_Fred?" Daria whispered, furrowing her eyebrows, "How did you get up here?"_

"_Suction cup fingers charm. I was able to climb right up the slide," he grinned. "Now, get dressed and meet me in the common room in ten minutes. I have a surprise for you."_

_Fred quickly slid out of the dorm just as Lavender turned over in her sleep._

_Daria could feel her thoughts buzzing around in her head but tried to bury them as she hopped up and started getting dressed. She threw on a pair of jeans and a fitted purple long sleeved shirt, before she pulled her cloak on and tried to tame her curls. They looked worse than Hermione's._

_She did a quick glamour charm, which help significantly, and brushed her teeth, before she quietly opened the dormitory door and flew down the stairs._

_Daria was a little surprised when she saw Fred, sitting alone in the common room._

"_No George?" she questioned. She hoped that he didn't hear the nerves in her voice._

"_Not today," he smiled before he reached out and grabbed her hand, leading her out of the common room. "Today, it's just me and you, Red."_

_Fred led her through the quiet, empty corridors and Daria wished she had checked the time when he had woken her up._

"_Fred, what time is it?" she asked as they walked._

"_Half past six," he answered simply._

6 am?!

_This was very un-Fred-like. He usually wasn't up until five minutes before classes started and today was a Saturday. On weekends, he didn't usually wake up until close to noon, much like Daria._

"_Where are we going?" she questioned, but he didn't answer her._

_Instead they came to a stop in front of the statue of Gunhilda of Gorsemoor._

_Fred approached the statue. _"Dissendium."

_Daria watched curiously as the witch's hump opened, revealing a dark opening._

"_Come on," Fred smiled as he climbed into the tunnel and disappeared. Daria hesitantly followed him._

_Once she was inside, the entrance closed behind her, shutting them into complete darkness._

_Fred's hand found hers again, this time lacing his fingers with hers, before he muttered 'lumos' and the tunnel filled with dim light._

"_Are you going to tell me where we're going now?" Daria pressed as they started walking down the long, dark tunnel._

"_Didn't you say that your mother wouldn't sign your Hogsmeade permission form after you snuck out to Diagon Alley?" Fred raised an eyebrow._

_Daria frowned slightly at the reminder. "Yes."_

"_I always find that Hogsmeade is so much better when it's not flooded with students. And what better place for our second date?" Fred grinned._

"_We're going to Hogsmeade?!" Daria exclaimed, excitedly._

_Fred nodded cheerfully._

_Daria felt the squeal escape her mouth before she could stop it and flung herself at him, pulling him into a tight embrace. He chuckled as he hugged her back._

"_Wait a minute," Daria pulled back slightly, but didn't release him, and furrowed her eyebrows. "Second date? I wasn't aware we'd had a first one."_

"_Well that hurts, Red," Fred frowned, pretending to be upset, "I'm sorry Diagon Alley wasn't as magic for you as it was for me."_

"_That was supposed to be a date?" Daria giggled at the look on his face. "It sure didn't seem like one. All we did was harass people with fireworks. You didn't even try to kiss me or anything."_

_Daria saw something flash across Fred's eyes, something she recognized as realization, as he looked down into her eyes. She felt her cheeks warming as she noticed just out close they were._

"_I didn't know you wanted me to," he stated seriously. Daria didn't think she had ever heard him be serious in the two years she had known him and it made her breath catch in her throat._

_She felt her cheeks redden even further as he bent down to close the foot of space between them, and she closed her eyes as he gently brought his lips to hers._

_Daria hoped he couldn't feel her heart pounding inside of her chest as her lips began to move with his and he pulled her closer._

_It was over as quickly as it had begun, and Fred chuckled as he pulled away. "And now onto date numero dose," he grinned as he grabbed her hand again and continued leading her down the tunnel._

* * *

**A/N: Warning: Mild spoilers.**

**Well, I don't know about you, but I just love Fred lol. I did try to include the real Prince Charming some though and I hope that you enjoyed his scene too ;) Next chapter will be almost all about Draco... with a tad bit of Fred. And then the next chapter (chapter 67) you'll find out the end of Fred and Daria's tale. Gah! It's so exciting... and saddening because we are coming up on our next big plot twist and we're going to find out what really happened in the crystal ball. It's all just happening so fast =O**

**Thanks for all the reviews... incase you were wondering, there were 8 this time. So, yay! Next chapter might be delayed an extra day or two because it seems to take me a while longer to write smut than it does to write dialog... but reviews still help ;)**

**I'd also like to add this little tid bit from Harry Potter wikia: **

**Fred Weasley ****was initially named ****Rodent**** because of the "weasel" in Weasley, but named himself ****Rapier****, probably in reference to his "rapier wit" or simply because he thought it sounded better. A rapier is a type of sword, relatively light, with an extremely sharp tip and very fast and deadly if used properly.**


	66. The one with Fred the headless snowman

**Listen to: 'Chasing Cars' by Snow Patrol**

**If I lay here, if I just lay here, would you lie with me and just forget the world?**

* * *

"So, Renegade, what's new on the Hogwarts front?" Lee asked as he switched on Daria's microphone.

"Things are looking pretty bleak, River. But the D.A. is going strong, which is a huge lifesaver for some students, who have been forced to go into hiding," Daria sighed as she glanced across the room at Neville, who was lounging on a hammock, looking bored. "Apparently causalities are a small price to pay in order to brainwash Europe's magical youth."

"Wait! So Snape is actually avada'ing students?!" Lee gasped. Fred also looked concerned.

Daria shook her head. "Not that I know of. Then again, we don't see much of ol' Snape these days. He keeps himself locked up in his office. But the Carrows have cleared the spell for use during dueling."

"That's barbaric," Lee gaped. "I wonder what Snape is doing, all alone up there."

"Maybe he's discovered shampoo?" Fred offered, lightly.

"Or he's practicing his cloak swishing?" Daria smiled, also trying to ease the mood.

"Well there you have it folks. Students are practicing unforgivables on each other while Snape washes his hair and sashays around his office," Lee chuckled grimly. "That concludes this broadcast of Potterwatch. Stay safe and support Harry Potter."

Daria helped the two boys turn everything off and pack up, before Lee left through the Hog's Head passage, leaving Daria alone with Fred and Neville.

"So Daria," Fred smiled as he turned toward her, "How's your love life? I heard that Harry's dating my sister now. So I'm not sure if I should be happy that you're not dating him anymore or upset that he's snogging my sister."

Daria smiled back and shrugged. "My love life is... I guess nonexistent," Daria cringed inwardly at the bold faced lie. "But I wouldn't worry too much about Harry and Ginny. They learned not to do that in public thanks to Ron throwing a few hissy fits."

"That doesn't help the fact that the guy who was snogging my ex-girlfriend is now snogging my sister," Fred shuttered slightly for effect, making Daria giggle. "But it does slightly improve my chances."

"Chances?" Daria raised a suspicious eyebrow.

"Would you like to go get a drink with me? I hear the Hog's Head has been pretty vacant lately. We could sneak away for a few hours," Fred suggested with a wink.

Daria frowned. "I can't." _I have to go find my AWOL death eater fiancé._ "I have a lot of homework to do."

"Aw, screw that. You should just camp out here with Neville. You wouldn't have to go to classes, do homework, or deal with those nasty Slytherins," Fred stated.

"I couldn't possibly do that," Daria replied, "Then my good friends the Carrows wouldn't have anyone to pick on anymore."

"Yeah, that'd be a real shame," Fred rolled his eyes. "Well if you change your mind, let me know. I'll buy you a fire whiskey and everything."

"Thanks Fred," Daria smiled before she grabbed her bag and stood up. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Later, Red!" he called before she hurried out the door, waving goodbye to Neville on her way.

Daria's lips held a small grin as she walked. Fred really was a great guy. It was a shame things hadn't worked out differently between them. He was so nice, and funny, and didn't always look like he had just tasted a lemon.

Like Harry, Fred was someone that no one would be surprised if she were to date him. It was expected... But of course, she was only comparing that to how surprised they would be if they knew she was betrothed to a death eater, who would soon succeed Voldemort.

But speaking of the Slytherin prince, he still hadn't returned when Daria had awoken that morning and she was beginning to worry about him. What could have happened when he had gone to see Snape? Had he gotten into trouble?

Daria sped up her pace a little as she strolled down the corridors toward the prefect common room and forced herself not to veer toward the Slytherin dorms.

**Flashback**

_"It's missing something," Daria hummed as she smoothed out some snow on the snowman's abdomen._

_"You mean besides a head?" George chuckled as he stabbed a stick into the side of the snow sculpture for an arm._

_Daria nodded absently as she held her chin in her hand and examined the headless snowman that her and George had been building. Keep in mind, that the poor sculpture wasn't meant to be headless, it just wasn't as high on their priority list as, lets say, shoes, which she suspected had been stolen from Fred- she hadn't questioned him when George had appeared, snickering, holding a pair of rather large shoes and suggested that they build a snowman on top of them._

Whack!

_Daria stumbled sideways as something cold and wet hit her right in the ear and thanked Merlin that her toboggan had earflaps._

_Daria shot a glare in the direction of the chuckling red head._

_"Sorry about that, Red," Fred apologized between gasps of laughter, "I was aiming for George."_

_"Then you have terrible aim," Daria stated as she scooped up a handful of snow and launched it at her still laughing boyfriend, hitting him square on the forehead._

_"Hey!" Fred objected as he rubbed his forehead, "That bloody hurt. I said I was sorry."_

_"And you're a terrible liar," Daria snorted as she hurled another ball of snow in his direction, but this one he expected and easily dodged._

_"Oh now you're just asking for it," he grinned before tossing a second snowball, this time clearly aiming for her, before ducking behind a statue for cover._

_Daria jumped behind the snowman, that George was still working on, as another snowball came whizzing her way._

_"Hey! Leave Sir Headless Fred out of this!" George objected while chuckling._

_"Why is the disfigured snowman named after me?" Fred called from his makeshift bunker as a snowball collided with the stone statue._

_"No particular reason," George grinned as he summoned a stick for the second arm._

_"Hey! Are those my shoes?!" Fred exclaimed as he poked his head out to launch another snowball in Daria's direction, but this one hit George, causing him to trip and wedge the stick into the snowman's bottom section._

_Daria heard a thud as Fred fell onto the snow-covered ground in a fit of laughter, and she took the opportunity to move around the snowman and help George up._

_As George brushed the snow off his clothes, Daria examined the snowman and the stick that was now in a rather unfortunate place._

_"That's it!" Daria exclaimed. "That's what he was missing!"_

_Fred finally composed himself and came up and put an arm around her shoulders. "What? An unbelievably long-"_

_"A broom!" Daria interrupted._

_"Yeah, that's not the first thing I thought of," Fred chuckled, earning him an elbow in the gut from Daria._

_Daria summoned a few twigs and arranged them behind the snowman as a broom tail._

_"I still think it looks like a giant-"_

_"Yes, yes. We all know what you think it looks like," Daria rolled her eyes but couldn't hide her amused smirk._

* * *

_"So, Daria, why aren't you at Hogsmeade?" George asked as he worked to build Sir Headless Fred a head._

_Daria was sitting on a stone bench and Fred was lying beside her with his head in her lap, while she gently messed with his hair. His concentration was on a firecracker in his hands as he tried to light it like Daria could, but he wasn't having much luck._

_"My mom wouldn't sign my permission slip," she shrugged, "Her highness didn't like that I snuck out to Diagon Alley over the summer to see Fred."_

_George glanced over at her and for the first time noticed her and Fred's overly friendly position. He furrowed his eyebrows as he looked away._

_"Well, you know, we could always sneak you out," he stated with a mischievous grin._

_"No thanks," Daria smiled. "Fred already snuck me down there once. It's Harry who could really use the help. Although, I think he might already have some stupid and reckless scheme up his sleeve. You guys should show him one of the secret passages."_

_"Oh, I think we might be able to give him a hand. Don't you, Georgie?" Fred grinned mischievously._

_"I do, Fred," George smiled back._

_"Damn it! This bloody thing won't light!" Fred grumbled as he snapped his fingers over and over again._

_Daria sighed in exasperation as she snatched the firework out of his hands. "Try it like this," she stated, before she placed the wick between her thumb and index finger and started rubbing them together to cause friction. After a few seconds, the wick lit and she tossed it onto the ground as it started shooting out red sparks._

_She pulled another one out of her pocket and handed it to Fred. "Don't hurt yourself," she instructed before she gave him an affectionate peck on the lips and stood up to help George finish the snowman's face._

"_So how long has that been going on?" George asked a low voice as he glanced over at Fred._

_Daria raised her eyebrow. "What? Fred trying to set himself on fire?"_

_George snorted. "No, I mean, how long have you two been official?"_

_Daria smiled as she tried to shove a carrot through the thickly packed snow of the snowman's head. "About two weeks."_

"_Oh," George answered simply, suddenly very interested in make the coal eyes level._

"_Arg!" Daria growled as she started stabbing the snowman with the carrot, "I can't get this stupid carrot to stay. The snow's iced over."_

"_Here, let me," Fred chuckled, suddenly appearing at her side and taking the carrot from her angry grasp._

_Daria sighed in annoyance and stepped back as she watched to boys try to wrestle the carrot into place._

Crunch...

Crunch...

Crunch...

_Daria glanced around, looking for the source of the approaching footsteps, but found nothing. She furrowed her eyebrows and looked down at the ground, smiling when she spotted the footprints trying to make their way around the group._

_She quickly nudged Fred and both boys stopped fighting with the carrot to watch the seemingly magical footprints make their way across the courtyard._

"_We'll be right back," Fred grinned and handed her the carrot, before he and George both hurried off toward the footprints._

_Daria watched in amusement as the twins dragged an invisible Harry Potter through the snow before glancing down at the carrot and smacking herself in the forehead as an idea came to her._

_Daria walked over to Sir Newly-Headed Fred pressed her index finger against the middle of his face until a good sized hole was melted into it. She grinned and stuck the carrot into the hole, sealing it with some more snow for good measure. Then she removed her scarf and wrapped it around the snowman's neck before skipping off to find the boys._

**End Flashback**

* * *

**A/N: So I have no idea how the Marauder's Map scene played out in the book and I was way too lazy to go look so I just went with the movie scene ;)**

**Anywho, the reason it took me so long to update is because I'm just writing sooo much. This chapter was actually supposed to include some Draco and some intimacy, but it was getting way too long so I decided to split it... plus that means a faster update for you =) And next chapter will be all about Draco. No flashbacks (I think). Next chapter should be up soon and it will include a fun surprise ;) Leave me some good reviews.**


	67. The one with the good little death eater

******Listen to: 'Addicted to Love' by Florence + The Machine**

******You can't be saved. Oblivion is all you crave.**

* * *

Daria entered the prefect common room and her eyes immediate shot to the back of Draco's blond head before they scanned over the other Slytherins.

Draco's arm was casually draped over Pansy's shoulders but he was still sitting as far away from her as possible, while still being able to reach her without dislocating his shoulder. That was something... but Daria still wanted to drop kick her in the face.

_Merlin! I hate this!_

She glared at the back of Pansy's head for a few second before glancing over at the other two Slytherins. Theodore Nott and Blaise sat on the couch across from the couple, facing Daria, but if they noticed her, they didn't show it.

"I thought this was no place for social calls," Daria deadpanned. She smirked when she noticed that she had startled Pansy and Draco so much that Draco's had retracted his arm from the pug, as he turned to face his witch.

Daria felt her face fall when she saw his face. He was always pale, but today his skin was almost translucent and it didn't do anything to hide the large purple crescents under his dead grey eyes. Daria felt her heart drop. What had happened last night?

Draco raised a blasé eyebrow as he stared back at her. "What do you want, halfblood?"

"I need to talk to you," she replied simply.

"Giving private shows again? Huh, half-breed?" Nott sneered, making Pansy let out a high-pitched chortle.

"Seriously?" Daria snapped, "That's the best you can come up with? So tell me, Nott, what am I? Half-giant? Half-goblin, perhaps? Or were you implying that muggles are no longer human? Because on the topic of heritage, your mother—"

"Come on then," Draco sighed as he stood up and grabbed her elbow, before dragging her off toward the dorms before she could start an all out war in the common room.

Daria heard Nott sniggering as they left and she didn't even want to know what he thought Draco was planning on doing to her.

"If you could just not egg him on, that'd be wonderful," Draco sighed after he closed both of them in his room.

"Me?!" Daria shouted incredulously.

"Yes, you!" he maintained, "I know he's a prat, but can't you just ignore him?"

Daria folded her arms over her chest and glared at him for several long moments before she spoke. "Where have you been?"

He snorted as he continued scowling. "Where have I been? What about you? I thought I told you to stay here."

"I did, for a while, but then you didn't come back," Daria shrugged, still glaring. "Which brings me back to, where the hell have you been?!" Daria shouted angrily, "I thought that you were considering running away together."

Draco turned away to glare at the floor. "That's no longer an option," he sighed bitterly.

"Draco, what happened last night?" Daria's face softened into a frown as she placed a hand on his chin and pulled his face up so he was looking at her again.

"It doesn't matter," he sighed as he pulled away and turned his back toward her, taking a few steps away.

"It does too matter!" Daria insisted, resisting the urge to stop her foot like a child. "You were gone for practically a whole day and come back looking like you got ran over by the knight bus, repeatedly. What did Snape do to you?"

"Snape didn't do anything!" Draco growled angrily as he turned to glare at her, "He chalked it up to all the stress from being Head Boy and was going to let me off the hook. But then that damn Amycus had to go blabbing his mouth to the fucking Dark Lord and, let me tell you, he was far from amused."

Daria's hand shot up to her mouth as she felt her breath catch in her throat. "What did he do?"

Draco sighed and started to pace before he answered. "He summoned me back to the Manor, where that freak has apparently taken up residence; told me all about what a disgrace I am; threatened to murder you, you know, the usual. Then I spent a good part of the night under the cruciatus curse... So no, I'm not going anywhere. I'm going to stay here, and be a good little death eater and do what I'm told."

"Oh, Draco," Daria whispered as she approached him and wrapped her arms around his waist, burying her face into his chest.

He stood there, rigidly, as she embraced him, but didn't move to reciprocate the affection.

"We could still leave, you know?" she whispered and she pulled him closer, "I have a secret passage to Hogsmeade we could use. No one would ever know."

Draco shook his head and sighed. "No. The Order would never be able to get my family out now. The Dark Lord has even ordered Aunt Bella to stay at the Manor, during times of his absence, in case I try any funny business."

Daria frowned when she realized that she wouldn't be able to convince him to defect. His loyalties to his family were too strong. But she should have already known that. After all, the prophecy didn't say 'then he shall defect and they shall flee the country together.' She should be used to this kind of stuff by now; fate was not on their side.

Daria startled slightly when she felt his arms gently wrap around her back. "You should go though. Even touring the countryside with your suicidal friends would be safer than being here."

Daria shook her head and looked up at him with a smile. "Are you kidding me? And miss all the absolute madness going on around here? I don't think so."

Draco gave her a stern look. "I'm serious, Daria. I'm putting you in too much danger."

"Oh please," Daria scoffed, "Do you really think you're the most dangerous thing in my life? I get into trouble all by myself. You hardly contribute."

Draco rolled his eyes and shot her an annoyed look, making her giggle. "You and your hero complex are going to be the death of me, woman."

"You love it," Daria smirked, "You live for the excitement I bring to your life."

He opened his mouth to argue, but she quickly covered it with her own before placing her hands against his chest and shoving him into the wall.

"Careful," he groaned in pain from the force of the wall against his sore muscles.

"Sorry," she smiled, before bringing her lips to his ear. "Don't worry. I'll be gentle," she whispered as she snapped her fingers, dimming the lights.

Draco's eyed widened, both in surprise and to try to adjust to the darkness. "That's kind of handy. Did you learn that in your Dumbledore worshipping club?"

Daria snorted. "No. I just haven't done it in years. Remember in forth year, when someone started a fiendfyre in Snape's class?"

Draco nodded.

"Yeah, that was me," she blushed and quickly continued at the amused look on his face. "Not on purpose though."

"Uh huh," he smirked. "I do remember getting quite singed that day. I think you aimed it for me."

Daria rolled her eyes. "You had bigger problems that year than getting attacked by a fire monster, ferret-boy."

Draco shot her a glare. "You'd just have to bring that up."

"Draco Malfoy, the amazing bouncing ferret," Daria smirked.

"Oh, do shut up," he stated playfully, before he grabbed her face and pulled her lips back to his.

He kissed her roughly, hoping to drown his stress with touch. He was so exhausted, so sore, but so relieved. The Dark Lord had chosen just to punish him for his actions, and he thanked Salazar that the slimy bastard hadn't thought to go after Daria. That would have killed him, to lose her.

It took all of his self-control not to jump across the common room a few minutes ago and strangle Nott with his bare hands. If Draco hadn't been dead on his feet then he might not have been so restrained with his friend.

He should have gone with her. He knew that now. All the times she had offered him a way out, he should have listened. Now, his days with her were numbered. A war was brewing, and he was on the wrong side of it. Fuck blood purity. He had nothing to gain from that mentality, anymore. If they knew, his family would consider him a blood traitor anyway. He would lose his inheritance if he were to marry a half blooded witch. Fighting for blood purity was pointless now. It would only take Daria away from him.

**(This is your warning. Mature content and language ahead. This would also be a good song switching time. Enjoy.)**

"Draco, please..."

Draco hadn't realized that he had pushed her up against the wall and pinned her wrists until she started squirming against him, wanting more.

He smirked down at her and trapped her bottom lip between his teeth, earning him a pleased gasp. He moved his way down to her neck and clavicle, extracting several more soft mewls as she lolled her head back to grant him easier access.

Draco released her wrists to caress her curves and instantly regretted it when she ran her fingers down his chest and stomach, making him flinch from the pain her tender touch caused. His body felt like it had just been beaten repeatedly with a beater's bat.

He swiftly grabbed her hips and flipped her around, pressing her front firmly against the wall with a thud. "I told you to be careful," he whispered huskily, making her shiver as he planted chaste kisses along her jawbone, still firmly pinning her to the wall.

Draco started nibbling at her earlobe as he pulled his wand out of his pocket and with a flick, vanished her outer clothes. She shivered again, this time from her skin being exposed to the cool air in his bedroom.

He got to work sucking and biting at the pulse point on her neck as his hands reached around her and pulled down the cups of her bra, exposing her already hard nipples.

Daria shuttered and gasped as he pinched and twisted her sensitive nipples and continued sucking on the flesh on her neck.

Draco could feel himself growing hard and her wiggling her ass against him wasn't helping matters.

He released her and took a step back so he could quickly unbutton his shirt and pulled it off before it occurred to her to turn around. As soon as the linen had hit the floor, he grabbed her hips and pulled her rear toward him, keeping her chest against the wall by placing one had on her upper back.

She let out a surprised yelp before she turned her head to the side to look at him. "Draco, what are you—"

"Shhh," he soothed as he caressed her outer thigh with one hand, "Just trust me, love. You'll like this."

She craned her neck further and he saw her eyes widened when she caught sight of his bare chest, which he knew must be mostly purple after the punishment he had had to endure the night before. "Oh my god. Are you—"

"I'm fine," he interrupted tersely. He's be damned if he let her kill the mood by being all nurturing and sympathetic. He needed stress relief and sleep, in that order, from last night's hell, not a distraught witch blubbering over his injuries.

_I should have kept my shirt on. Damn it!_

"No, you're not fine," she argued, struggling against his hold, "You're hurt."

"I'm fine," he repeated, "Relax."

He ran his fingertips down her spine, stopping when he got to her to her tailbone to loop his fingers under the hem of her panties. He firmly grabbed the lacey garment with both hands and yanked them down, letting them go at her thighs to puddle at her feet.

He smiled when he won the argument by reaching around her and shoving two fingers inside of her, causing her to release a high pitch moan.

"That's more like it," he purred in her ear as he used his other hand to knead her left breast. "I told you that you would like it."

"Don't tease me," she begged as she grinded her hips against his palm, "Please."

"Whatever you want, love," he smirked and moved the hand on her breast to undo his trousers.

Draco pulled his fingers from her hot core to pull his pants and boxers down. Daria had enough time to let out a disappointed groan from the vanished friction before he shoved himself, hilt deep, into her warmth.

He groaned as Daria cried out his name and instantly came around him.

Draco continued pounding into her, over and over again, relishing in her dulcet moans as he caused her to near her peak again.

He slid his right hand down her stomach until it reached her swollen clitoris, which he proceeded to fondle while he thrust into her, causing several rapturous cries to escape her throat before her muscle clamped down against his rock hard length.

Draco clenched his teeth as he held back his release and wrapped his arms around her to hold her up when he realized her legs were shaking.

He pulled out of her and pulled her close. She leaned her head back onto his shoulder as she tried to catch her breath.

"I think you forgot something," she panted as he brushed some sweat soaked hair away from her face.

"Oh, I'm not done with you yet," he replied with a smirk, before turning her around and gently pushing her onto to green sheets of his bed.

Draco climbed on top of her and pulled her hips up to his as he entered her soaking entrance again.

"Dracooo..." she grasped as he started trusting into her again.

"Yes, daring?" he smiled as he stole another kiss.

"I can't," she groaned, as she pulled away from his mouth, "Not again."

"Yes you can," he reassured as he ground deeper into her, increasing the intensity and frequency of her moans of euphoria.

"Please, Draco," she cried, begging for release as he pounded into her sore, swollen pussy again and again.

"Come on, baby," he coaxed, "Come for me."

He immediately felt her walls spasm around him and groaned as he, too, reached his peak and spilled his hot seed inside of her.

Draco collapsed on top of his breathless witch, resting his head against her heaving breasts.

"That was fun," she chuckled as she soothingly ran her fingers through his platinum hair.

"Yeah," he breathed huskily as his post coitus high started to wear off and he realized how sore he really was.

Draco rolled off of her and tried to catch his breath even though each intake of air caused his tender abdomen pain. He hid it well though, so Daria didn't start freaking out again.

After a few minutes, when he had regained his composer, he glanced over and saw that Daria had passed out beside him.

He smiled loving down at her and brushed her hair out of her face, placing a kiss on her forehead before climbing out of bed to grab a book of spells from a nearby shelf, in search of a healing spell.

* * *

**A/N: So about that surprise... Wanna know why it took me so long to update? It's because I wrote this part, and the next part together (the next part was easier to write so I wrote it during times when I just couldn't bring myself to write the depth needed for this chapter) So chapter 68 is completed! Now you want to know where it is, don't you? Well of course you do! Muahahahaha!**

**I'm holding it hostage. Yep. Hostage!**

**My ransom is 11 reviews. As soon as I get 11 more reviews (that will bring me to 215) then I will post chapter 68 straight away. In fact, I'll be sitting at my computer waiting patiently and counting so there will be no delay... all you have to do is review. And it doesn't even have to be for this chapter! You can go back to your favorite and tell me why you loved it, or what your favorite line of the story has been... whatever, just review. If you don't you will never find out the end of Fred and Daria's tale. But incase that isn't enough incentive, here's a snippet from the next part:**

"_**You love her..."**_

"_**Do not!"**_

"_**Yes you do!"**_


	68. The one with the younger woman

******Listen to: 'Run Away Heart' by The Strange Familiar.**

******I'll count the seconds you're gone, but I won't hold my breath. I know this is for the best.**

* * *

"That's a pretty necklace."

Daria flinched slightly as Fred's voice broke the silence that had surrounded them as they worked to fix a broken wire on the soundboard. She lowered her eyes and noticed that she had been absently playing with the emerald necklace, as she often did when she was trying to concentrate, but no one had ever seemed to notice before.

"Thanks," she replied shortly as she continued examining the instruction manual.

"It looks awfully expensive. Did someone get it for you?" he pressed as he stared at the pendant curiously.

Daria casually tucked it back into her shirt and shrugged. "It was a family heirloom. My mother gave it to me a few years ago."

She didn't miss the suspicious look on Fred's face and internally cringing. He knew she was lying. _Damn it!_

"I thought your mother lost everything when she married a muggle; including the family jewels. I doubt she would have been able to keep something that extravagant," he contended, looking at her expectantly.

Daria didn't argue; instead, she nervously started playing with the necklace again.

"Is it from a guy?" he raised an eyebrow as he continued staring at the necklace.

"It could be," she shrugged, trying to maintain a poker face.

"Is it from the same bloke that gave you that?" he questioned as he reached out a touched her neck, making her wince slightly as he touched what should have been a well-concealed love mark. Her glamour charms must have started to wear off.

_Shit!_

"So who is it? Anyone I know? I'd assume so, seeing as you don't want me to know about him," Fred smirked at Daria's uneasiness.

"Don't take it personally," Daria sighed, "Harry, Ron, and Hermione don't know either. In fact, almost no one does. It's kind of a secret."

"Ohhh... I get it," Fred grinned, "He's in Slytherin, huh?"

Fred chuckled as Daria's eyes nearly bugged out of her head. "How—"

Fred shrugged, still smiling. "Green and silver heart? Not telling your friends? Doesn't take a curse breaker to figure that one out."

Daria smiled halfheartedly at the ease in which he was taking the news. "You can't tell anyone."

"I don't have anything to tell... yet," Fred winked. "Now we just have to figure out which one of the buggers it is."

Fred tapped his index finger against his chin and pretended to be very deep in thought, making Daria giggle.

"Is he in your year?" Fred thought out loud. "I'd assume so. You don't really seem to be into the younger guys."

Daria snorted and rolled her eyes but didn't answer. She wasn't going to give him any hints. He was already dangerously close to figuring it out, and if he didn't take well to the news, then she'd have to obliviate him.

"I know!" he exclaimed, "It's Goyle, isn't it? I always knew you had a soft spot for him."

Daria nearly falling out of her chair with laughter answered that one for her.

"Hmm... Not Goyle then," Fred continued to ponder, "And I can probably rule out Crabbe too."

"Probably," Daria agreed with a lingering smile.

"Well let see here. How about that one fellow? Mr. Tall, dark, and scary?" Fred suggested.

Daria raised an eyebrow. "You mean Nott?"

"Oh that's his name?" Fred furrowed his brows. "It couldn't be him then. I heard he tried to kill you yester—"

Fred cut himself off as his eyes widened in realization.

"Oh course," he gasped, "Everyone around here was wondering why he saved you."

Daria blanched. "How do you know about that?"

"Yesterday, after you left, Michael Corner and Ginny came in and told Neville all about what had happened the day before in Dark Arts. About how Nott shot an avada at you and Malfoy blocked it. They all seemed pretty baffled, but now it all makes sense," Fred explained, still gaping. "So it's true then? You're dating the ferret?"

Daria worried her lip as she continued to mindless fiddle with her necklace. When she finally spoke, she didn't meet his stare. "You can't tell anyone."

"Bloody hell, Daria! What are you thinking?!" he snapped as he raised his hands in frustration. "You know his father is a bloody death eater don't ya?"

"So is my mother," Daria shot, turning to glare at him, "What does that prove?"

Fred furrowed his eyebrows and opened and closed his mouth repeatedly, like a fish, trying to come up with a reply.

"Is he good to you?" he finally asked, reluctantly.

Daria nodded, "Yes."

"And are you happy?" he pressed.

"Very," Daria stated.

Fred nodded absently. "Good."

He managed to bring back a smile to his lips before he continued. "Well that's that then. If you're happy then I'm happy for you. But if that git ever hurts you, I'm not going to ask questions before I start firing the unforgivables."

Daria grinned and threw her arms around his neck. "Thanks Fred. You really are a great friend."

"Yeah, yeah, I know," he chuckled as he hugged her back, but she couldn't see the frown polluting his face.

The pair looked up when they heard footsteps coming their way.

"Hey George," Daria smiled as she pulled away from Fred.

"Hey Daria," he replied as he forced a half smile onto his lips.

"Well, I better get going if I'm going to make it to dinner. I'll see you later," she told Fred before she gave him a peck on the cheek and stood up to leave.

"See you later, George," she stated as she passed by him.

He just nodded is head but didn't turn his emotionless eyes from his brother as she hurried out of the Room of Requirement.

Fred huffed as he looked up at the mirror image of himself a few feet away and wondered how differently things would have been if him and Daria were still together.

**Flashback**

_"So, you're dating my brother?" _

_Daria glanced up from her history essay as Ron entered the common room and raised an eyebrow. "Yeah... For the past month. Where have you been?"_

_"Well no one bothered to tell me, so I just wanted to be sure," Ron shrugged as he took a seat on the sofa across from her._

_"Why? You got a problem with it?" Daria pressed, still watching him unsurely._

_"Well you are kind of young to be in a relationship. Don't ya think?" Ron asked._

_"It's not like we're shagging or anything," Daria retorted as she continued on her essay._

_She saw Ron shutter out of the corner of her eye and open his mouth to reply but Hermione interceded. "Leave her alone, Ronald."_

_Daria shot Hermione a small smile before both of them went back to writing._

* * *

"_So how's Daria?" George asked, as Fred plopped down on his bed across from his twin's._

_Fred shrugged as a cheesy grin plastered itself on his face. "She's fine; a real firecracker, that girl._

_George snorted and rolled his eyes before continuing. "She's awfully young for you. Isn't she?"_

_Fred furrowed his eyebrows. "What? Do you not like Daria?"_

_"I like her just fine," George shrugged, "But she's only thirteen. She's thinking about holding hands and kissing. You're a fifteen-year-old boy. I'm pretty sure your mind is on something else."_

_"What are you, now—_her_ brother?" Fred chuckled lightly, "I can assume you my intentions are honorable."_

_"All I'm saying is give it a couple years," George pressed, "You've got plenty of time to romance her later. "_

_"Why does it matter to you?" Fred raised an eyebrow as he started getting annoyed with his brother._

_George bit his lip and looked away uncomfortably. "It doesn't. It was just a suggestion. I don't want her to get hurt."_

_Fred's eyes widened to the size of saucers._

_Fred could count on one hand the number of times he had had a moment of realization, but this was definitely the biggest one._

_"You love her," Fred accused as he continued to stare, wide eyed, at George._

_"Do not!" George shot, too quickly._

_"Yes you do!" Fred argued before he leapt onto the foot of George's bed._

_George immediately got up and moved away a few feet. He may have shared a womb with the bloke, but that made personal space even more important to him._

_"You're in love with my girlfriend," Fred repeated, matter-of-factly._

_He wondered why Fred didn't seem to be angry. George didn't look at him when he replied. "So what? It doesn't change anything."_

_"Well I can't keep seeing her now that I know that," Fred stated with a frown._

_"Yes you can," George objected, "I don't want you to break up just because I have a stupid crush on her. It's not fair to her."_

_"George," Fred started as he stood up and placed a hand on George's shoulder, "I'm not gonna let a girl drive a wedge between us. I like Daria. She's pretty and smart and funny, but you're my brother. I only have like five of those."_

_George chuckled humorlessly. "Don't worry about me, Fred. I'm a big boy. I can handle a girl wanting my twin instead of me."_

"_Sure you can," Fred smiled, but George noticed that it didn't reach his eyes, "But you won't have to."_

* * *

"_Evening, Freddie," Daria grinned as she came to a halt in front of him. "I came as soon as I got your owl. You know how I just love breaking curfew."_

"_Hey, Red," Fred smiled in return but Daria could see the uneasiness written all over his face. He glanced around nervously at the dark hallway, "Think we could get a little bit more light around here?"_

"_Sure," Daria nodded as she looked around at the four wall mounted torches nearest them before lighting each of them individually._

_Fred smiled down at her in admiration. "I definitely need to learn how to do that."_

_Daria chuckled and shook her head. "You'd use it to set fire to people."_

"_Like you wouldn't," Fred snorted._

"_Is that why you owled me?" Daria raised her eyebrow and frowned when his face suddenly went serious._

"_No," he replied solemnly, "I owled you so we could talk."_

_Daria felt her stomach drop as she watched him unsurely._

"_I think it might be better if we went back to being friends," he stated, suddenly very interested in a crack on the floor._

_The hallway went dark as the torches all burned out._

"_W-what?" Daria whispered as she felt her eyes trying to adjust. "Why?"_

"_Believe me, it's not you," he replied, as he finally looked up at her hurt eyes and instantly regretted it. "Its just—well—you're awfully young, you know? Two years is a big age difference."_

"_Have you been talking to Ron?" Daria furrowed her eyebrows._

_Fred shook his head, "No, I decided this on my own." He swallowed hard before he continued, "Maybe, we could try again in a few years when you're older. Until then, we can be friends... right?"_

"_Yeah," Daria internally cringed when she heard her own voice crack. She took a deep breath before giving him a watery-eyed nod, "Of course. We'll always be friends, Fred."_

_Fred frowned and silently watched as she looked away and took another shaky breath._

_She willed herself not to cry before she started talking again. "I should probably go. My friends will be looking for me," she sighed, "Goodnight, Fred."_

_She didn't wait for his reply before she took off in the opposite direction, walking as quickly as she could without full out running. As soon as she turned the corner, she felt the first tear slip past her eyelashes and picked up her speed as she sprinted down the hall without a destination. _

_Daria felt the tears streaming down her face by the time she reached the doors leading outside and angrily tried to wipe them away before she pushed the doors open and continued running away._

_Eventually, she found herself lying on the short grass of the quidditch pitch, staring up at the stars as she tried to sniffle away the sobs._

"_Daria?"_

_Daria quickly wiped her wet cheeks before she sat up to greet the intruder._

"_Hi, Harry," she smiled as she looked up into his green eyes, but felt a tear glide down her cheek._

_He furrowed his eyebrows as he dropped down onto his knees next to her. "What's wrong?"_

_She shook her head as she wiped her face again. "It's nothing."_

"_It doesn't look like nothing," Harry frowned as he placed a hand on her cheek._

"_I don't want to talk about it," Daria sighed._

_Harry nodded and whispered 'okay', before pulling her into a tight embrace._

_Daria heard a sob escape her throat before she crumpled into his arms. She cried into his shirt as he patted her back and tried, silently, to help her nurse a broken heart._

**End Flashback**

* * *

**A/N: Well there you have it; the end of Daria and Fred. Hope you enjoyed our little detour from the main story, and if not, then it's over now so we can get back to the plot =P (Draco will definitely be in the next chapter)**

**I mentioned a long time ago that Daria started liking Harry in 3****rd**** year (even though they didn't date til 6****th**** year) so I wanted to add him into the flashbacks as well. This isn't necessary when she started liking him but I'm sure it contributed to her rebounding onto him.**

**Next chapter will contain a big old plot twist and then there is #70 so they are both bound to be interesting. Also, we're drawing closer to the end of the story =O There will probably be roughly 80-90 chapters in this story, then it will be over =/ Very sad, I know.**

**Anyways, keep those reviews coming and you'll find out what happens next even sooner.**


	69. The one with Draco's plan

******Listen to: 'Run' by Snow Patrol**

******I know we'll make it anywhere away from here.**

* * *

"Miss McVey, what are you doing?"

"Sleeping," Daria stated simply, not bothering to open her eyes or lift her head from the back of the chair.

"Yes, I can see that," Snape sighed, a hint of annoyance in his voice, "But this isn't nap time. This is a very important meeting."

Daria had missed her regularly scheduled naps after Snape had given up the potions position and none of her other teachers had the same sleep inducing drawl.

"No it's not," Daria shot, "You don't need me here. I don't have any say in what goes on in this school. I'm not even sure why I'm Head Girl. You and Malfoy make all the decisions. You should be Head Girl."

Daria vaguely heard Draco trying not to laugh at his mentor and Snape clicking his tongue, probably debating whether to give her detention or backhand her.

Finally, the headmaster let out what could only be labeled as a groan. "You may go, Miss McVey. Try not to pass out and fall down a flight of stairs on your way. Would you like a escort?"

Daria grinned as she hopped up from her plushie chair and grabbed her bag. "That won't be necessary. Adieu, gentlemen. Do try not to hurt yourselves doing the patrol schedules without my crucial assistance."

She quickly made a beeline for the door and the two death eaters stared after her with a mixture of annoyance and amusement.

After a minute, Snape broke Draco's bemused gaze on the door with another sigh. "I sincerely hope that you have a plan to keep her safe during this war. Because I know quite a few teachers who would love to get their hands around her neck."

Draco's head quickly shot up, as he stared at the headmaster in absolute shock. "Sir?"

"Don't take me for a fool, Draco," Snape sneered. "You are not the first death eater to ever love a red headed Order member."

Draco just continued to stare at him, mouth agape. What could he possibly say to that? He contemplated obliviating his mentor, but knew he'd never be able to get Snape's guard down.

"Don't worry, I have nothing to gain by revealing your personal life to either side. I just want to make sure that you're planning ahead. You know as soon as she gets a chance, she's going to go running off into battle with Potter," Snape stated, giving him a meaningful look. "Personally, I'd lock her in a closet. But even then, you still risk her getting into a fight with a coat hanger."

Draco scoffed, despite himself at the idea and smirked. "Don't worry, sir. I have a plan."

Snape nodded once. "Very good. Now get back to work on those schedules."

Draco picked up his quill and continued drawing up that month's patrol schedule, both him and Snape knowing fully well that it would not be needed.

* * *

"Hi!"

Blaise looked up from his homework long enough to shoot Luna an annoyed glace, before going back to his essay.

"What awful weather we've been having lately," Luna stated, conversationally, not fazed by his aloofness, as she plopped down in the seat beside him in the library.

"What do you want?" he sighed as he closed his Dark Art's book to glare up at her.

"I just wanted to chat," she shrugged innocently while aimless playing with her hair.

"Uh huh," he drawled, "What do you really want?"

"Have you seen Daria?" she asked suddenly, giving up on the false pretense.

"Not since this morning, why?" he cocked an eyebrow.

"I've been looking everywhere for her. I wanted to tell her about Harry breaking into Gringott's," she stated, excitedly. "Do you think you could sneak me into the prefect dorms?"

"No," he replied pointedly. "Where's Longbottom? Why don't you get him to let you in?"

"He's keeping a low profile," she shrugged. "The Carrows would really love to murder him."

"That's not surprising," he rolled his eyes as he went back to his homework.

The pair sat in silence for a few minutes while Blaise worked on his essay about Nurmengard and Luna tunelessly hummed.

"I'm not in love with him, you know."

"Huh?" Blaise furrowed his eyebrows at the blonde's sudden outburst.

"Neville. I'm not in love with him," she repeated, with a friendly smile.

Blaise chewed on his tongue as he studied the dewy eyed Ravenclaw.

"That's too bad," he frowned as he turned back to his book, refusing to make eye contact with her again. "You should go now. The password to the prefect common room is hippogriff."

"Thank you, Blaise," she smiled sweetly and gave him a peck on the cheek before skipping out of the library.

* * *

"Where have you been?"

Daria snapped on the candles in her bedroom so they illuminated the pale blond sitting on her bed.

"I had detention with Alecto," Daria shrugged and cringed when the motion brought pain to her aching body.

Draco's frown deepened. "I was worried about you."

"How come?" she furrowed her eyebrows, as he nervously ran a hand through his hair. "Is something wrong?"

Draco looked like he was torn between being violently ill and just being plain violent. "Potter, Weasley, and Granger broke into Gringott's a few hours ago. They broke into my aunt's vault."

"No way," Daria gaped, her eyes wide with disbelief. "Were they captured?"

Draco shook his head. "From what I hear, they escaped on an Ukrainian Ironbelly."

"That's amazing!" she squealed. "Of course, they get to have all the fun."

Draco rolled his eyes. "Yes, trying to control a fire breathing dragon sounds like such fun."

"Oh, you're just a spoil sport," she chuckled as she hopped onto the bed next to him.

Daria furrowed her eyebrows again as Draco resumed looking torn, glaring down at her bedspread. She recognized the look, now, as nervousness. It threw her for a loop because she had so rarely seen the expression on him; he was always so sure of himself.

"What's wrong, love?" she frowned as she placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"There's something else I need to tell you," he sighed.

"Well, go on," she encouraged.

"Your friends were spotted in Hogsmeade. They are on their way here now and so is the Dark Lord," he explained in one breath, cringing slightly at his own words.

Daria forgot how to breathe. Her friends were coming and they needed her. She had to get to the Room of Requirement, fast. She could take the passage to Hogsmeade and help them into the school.

"I have to find them," she quickly jumped up and went to grab her cloak.

"Petrificus totalus."

Daria felt Draco's arms grab her before she felt to the ground, her body frozen.

"I'm sorry about this, love," he frowned down at her, "But I can't lose you today. The Dark Lord only wants Potter and I won't let you get yourself killed trying to protect him."

Draco picked up her stiff body and carried her over to her closet, placing her inside of it. "This isn't how I pictured our goodbye," he sighed, "I probably should have done it before I told you about your friends, but it would have made you suspicious."

_For good reason!_ Daria mentally screamed as she tried her hardest to glare at Draco.

"I hope, someday, you can forgive me for saving you from yourself," he stated, sadly, as he trailed a finger down her cheek. "I don't know when we'll be together again, but I'll be waiting for you. I love you."

He leaned forward and planted a kiss against her cold, unyielding lips. Despite her anger at him, she desperately wanted to kiss him back. Merlin only knew if she'd ever get to do it again. But despite her protests against the spell, she couldn't.

Daria felt a tear slide down her cheek. She wasn't aware that one could cry under a full body-bind curse, but apparently she could.

Draco reached up, brushed the tear from her face, and planted a kiss in its place before closing the closet door and leaving her in the darkness.

* * *

**A/N: Cliffhanger! I know; I'm cruel. But I do have good news. At least half of chapter 70 is already written (again, it was easier to write than this one so I worked on it when I couldn't come up with lines for this one) and it should be up very shortly (I hope). It shall include: plot twists, the golden trio, a certain red headed male, fire whiskey, and death! It's also already 1400 words long and will probably double by the time I'm done with it.**

**Leave me some reviews, loveys, and thanks for helping me get to 224 reviews last chapter ;)**


	70. The one with the blue fireworks

******Listen to: 'The A Team' by Ed Sheeran**

******It's too cold outside for angels to fly.**

* * *

_A year and a half later_:

"Evening, Miss McVey."

Daria smirked at the bartender as she sat down, her leather hot pants squeaking against the leather barstool. "Hello, Corner."

Michael Corner smiled back as he polished a few shot glasses. "What can I get for you this evening? The usual?"

Daria nodded. "Yes, but only a small glass today."

"Small?" Michael raised his eyebrow suspiciously.

"I'm trying to cut back," she shrugged, "Plus, it makes my job easier if I'm not hammered."

"I see," he smirked, as he opened a bottle of Blishen's Firewhiskey and poured her a glass. "I would think it'd be the other way around."

"Oh hush," she teased as he handed her the glass.

Daria took a slow sip of her drink before glancing around the room in search of her target.

**Flashback**

Oh shit...

Oh shit...

Oh shit...

_Daria's eyes frantically roamed the closet to try to find some way to get out of this mess, so that she could go murder Draco._

_So far, she wasn't having much luck._

_Her wand was lying on her nightstand, so even if she could move her arms, it wouldn't do her much good._

_"Hello?"_

_Daria froze... in a sense._

Luna?

_"Is anyone in here?" her dreamy friend called, and Daria could hear Luna walking across the room. "Daria?"_

_Daria had to let Luna know she was there. Otherwise, she could be stuck like this for countless more hours and she really had to pee._

_"Hello?" Luna called again but her voice was farther away as she went to leave the room._

No!

_Daria concentrated with all her might, and soon she could smell smoke as flames sprung up around her, licking at her feet, but they had no effect on her._

_Daria could hear Luna scrambling back into the room, and Daria fell flat on her face as Luna pulled the closet door open._

_Luna quickly extinguished the flames and released Daria from the spell._

_"Are you alright?" Luna asked, looking mildly concerned, "Did the nargles do this to you?"_

_Daria sat up, trying to cough up some of the smoke she had breathed in, and shook her head. "No. That would be Draco."_

_"Oh dear," Luna frowned, "Lucky I found you then. Everyone has been looking for you. They were afraid you were dead."_

_"Everyone?" Daria breathed, "So then Harry's-"_

_"Alive? Yes," Luna nodded, "He did die for a little while, but he found his way back."_

_Daria nodded in relief, not bothering to question Luna's statement._

_"There is something you should know though," Luna bit at her bottom lip._

_"No," Daria gasped, "Not-"_

_"Oh, no," Luna quickly reassured, "Draco's fine. He and his family fled after Harry rose from the dead."_

_"Then who?" Daria ventured, dreading whom it would be._

_Luna hung her head and gave Daria a sympathetic look. "Fred."_

**End flashback**

"Well 'ello there, gorgeous."

Daria glanced up from her fire whiskey to a set of very jumbled, large teeth.

Marcus Flint hadn't changed a bit since she had last seen him over five years ago. He still looked like a bloody mountain troll.

_That was easy. I didn't even have to look for him. Draco must have been right about the red hair attracting the bull._

Daria grinned up at him as he took a seat next to her. "Evening."

"Can I buy you a drink, lovey?" he offered as he grabbed a lock of her curly, red hair and ran his fingers through it.

"Of course," she nodded, "I'm drinking fire whiskey."

Flint motioned for Michael to bring her a refill and took the opportunity to look her over, while Corner poured her drink.

"So tell me, baby, are you here for business or pleasure?" he grinned, his eyes not straying from her low cut halter-top.

"Both," she smirked.

He flashed his eyebrows. "That's a good outlook to have. Everyone should be able to enjoy their job."

"That's my philosophy," she winked, "What about you? Are you interested in the business of pleasure?"

"Yes, very," smirked as he ran a finger over her bare arm. She resisted the urge to squirm away. "What's your price, lovey?"

"Thirty galleons an hour, with payment up front," she stated casually before taking a sip of her drink.

Flint let out a low whistle. "You ain't cheap. Are ya, love?"

Daria shook her head. "Quality comes at a price. If you can't afford it then you could always check the street corner."

"Oh, I can definitely afford it," he shot as he pulled a drawstring bag out of his pocket, "I just want to make sure I'm getting my moneys worth."

"Tell you what," Daria started, as she turned her body toward him on her stool, "Give me a half an hours worth up front, and if I'm satisfactory then you can purchase more time."

"Sounds like a deal, love," he grinned before standing up and motioning for her to lead the way.

She shot Corner a subtle nod before she headed toward the back of the bar with her customer.

Daria scanned a row of doors before she found an empty one and led Flint inside the small room, containing a full sized bed and one bedside table.

"Would you put up the enchantments, please?" she asked with a smile and he nodded in agreement before pulling out his wand.

Daria watched as Flint put up a locking spell and a silencing spell before he turned back to her with that slimy grin of his, which was greeted with the heel of her thigh high boot.

* * *

"I got him!" Daria called out after apparating back to headquarters.

"That was fast," Harry grinned as he got up from his desk to help her with the unconscious Marcus Flint.

"That's cause he's slow," Daria chuckled. "And your idea worked perfectly. Not going in disguise worked like a moth to a flame."

"Superiority complex," Harry shrugged, "He couldn't beat you at quidditch, so he'd surely jump at a chance to debase you."

"I still think it was bloody dangerous," Ron grumbled, as appeared from around the corner. "Imagine if he had wanted her for anything other than- you know."

"Yes, Ronald, we all know," Daria snorted, "And if he had been out for my head, then he wouldn't have been at an escort bar."

"You still could have sent someone else," Ron argued to Harry, "Someone less essential to the cause."

"Corner was there to watch out for her. Not that it was necessary; Daria's my best auror," Harry beamed.

Daria rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah. I was your best chaser too, until you married Ginny. I want none of your flattery, Mr. Potter."

Harry raised his eyebrow as Daria turned to walk away from the group. "Daria why are you jingling? You didn't loot him, did you?"

Daria shot him an innocent look. "Of course not, Harry. I was just paid for my services."

"But you didn't provide any services. Unless kicking him in the jaw counts as prostitution now," Harry rolled his eyes.

"Sure it does," she smiled before she continued on her merry way.

Daria scurried down the all-stone hallway toward her bedroom, the echo of her platforms against the stone floor bouncing around the corridor.

"Love the outfit, Daria," Seamus Finnigan smiled up from a stack of paperwork as neared her.

"Thanks," Daria rolled her eyes.

"What did you have to be today? A pole dancer?" he chuckled as he glanced her over.

"No," Daria corrected, "A hooker."

"Ah," he nodded with a grin.

"Is there something you want?" Daria folded her arms over her chest and watched him expectantly.

"Yes, actually," he shot, as he pulled an envelope from the top of his stack of paperwork. "You got an owl while you were out."

He handed her the already opened letter before he continued. "It's from Mrs. Weasley. Apparently George isn't doing too well and she wants you to stop by when you get a chance."

Daria frowned. "You know, in some places it's illegal to open other people's mail."

"Ah, but that's my job," he grinned, "Got to make sure those nasty death eaters don't send us a plague."

Daria rolled her eyes again before hurrying off to her room to change into some warmer clothes for her trip to the burrow.

She stripped herself of her escort costume and wiped off some of her makeup, pulling her curly hair up into a high ponytail. She pulled on a pair of fitted jeans, a purple turtleneck jumper, brown fury boots, and some gloves to fight off the bitter cold, before she hurried outside of the underground bunker, into the snow, to the apparation point.

It had been a year and six months since Harry had defeated Voldemort in the Battle of Hogwarts, but all was not won. The Malfoys, and several other death eaters, had fled when they found out that Harry had faked his death. Narcissa Malfoy may have lied about Harry being dead to save him, but the later actions of her husband and son were inexcusable.

After Voldemort had been defeated, Draco took over as the new dark lord, surely with help from Lucius. They still controlled the ministry and killed as they pleased, but weren't obsessed with the demise of Harry Potter. Without having to come up with terrible schemes to kill the-boy-who-lived, they were much less vulnerable to attacks. As far as the Order knew, the dark forces were currently using Malfoy Manor as their headquarters, but even if the Order could find it and break through the protective enhancements, they would still be greatly outnumbered.

Most of the Order members had gone back into hiding after the Battle of Hogwarts. The world still wasn't safe. Daria and her friends (including but not limited to: Harry, Ron, Hermione, Luna, Neville, Ginny, Seamus, and Michael Corner) had literally gone underground. Daria and Seamus had constructed an all-stone hide out into the side of a mountain. It consisted of two stories. The top held what was referred to as 'headquarters', which was the new home of the Order of the Phoenix, headed by Kingsley Shacklebolt; the renegade Auror office, which was headed by Harry Potter; a small medical center, headed by Hermione Granger; and a dormitory area for all the hiding members. The lower level held a catacomb of prison cells to house the death eaters they had captured. Their plan was to diminish the other side's forces, so that the Order had a fighting chance.

Daria had been an undercover (well weren't they all nowadays) auror for the past six months. The first seven months after the battle, she had spent in a large puddle of cheap fire whiskey. Daria hadn't been the only one though. Everyone had been pretty defeated after the dark side had refused to fall and went into their respective refuges. Harry had taken it the worst and it took several months of badgering by Hermione and Ginny before he decided to become an auror, like he'd always wanted, despite the circumstances.

Then the next five month, Daria spent in a make shift rehab Hermione had instigated, which basically consisted of the brunette pouring all the booze down the toilet and locking Daria in her room until she stopped screaming and clawing her fingernails into bloody nubs against her bedroom door. Then she was put on paperwork duty, under Ginny's watchful eye and given large doses of calming draught to sooth her nerves. No one had blamed her though. They all thought that she was mourning Fred's death and she didn't feel the need to tell them otherwise.

Daria had been crushed by the news that one of her best friends and her first love had died, but that wasn't the reason why she felt so despondent. She had had to sit back and watch while the love of her life had destroyed the world around her, and she was powerless to stop it. All she could do was sit back and watch the world burn like the fire whiskey against her tongue. She had failed. She hadn't been able to save him, and it hurt. It felt like someone had ripped out half of her soul and neutralized it. She just felt so _hollow_.

But she persevered and dragged her sorry butt out from under the mountain of empty bottles to help the cause and capture those murdering, heartless death eaters. George was another story though.

After she had sobered up and gotten her act together, she was crushed to learn that the surviving twin had taken refuge at his parent's house, hold up in his old bedroom, and dead to the world. Daria had immediately gone to see him, after getting clearance from her new warden, Hermione, and tried to help him pick back up the pieces of his life.

George hadn't made much improvement over the last several months, but at least he had started talking to people again, particularly Daria. And she hoped that, together, they could get through this slump and rebuild their friendship that had struggled over the past six years.

Daria arrived outside the burrow and tromped through the deep snow toward the front door. On her way, she bend down and scooped up a handful of snow, muttering a wandless spell to keep it frozen, as she packed it into a ball.

"Daria!" Mrs. Weasley gushed as she opened the front door and pulled Daria into a bone-crushing hug. "Thank you for coming, dear. We've missed you. You will stay for dinner, won't you? I'm making turkey and stuffing, your favorite."

"Of course, Mrs. Weasley," Daria smiled as the older woman released her. "Is George—"

"He's up in his room" Molly sighed, "As always. Do see if you can get him to come down for dinner, won't you?"

"I will," Daria nodded before climbing the stairs two at a time up to the twins' old room.

She didn't bother knocking, because she knew he wouldn't answer. Instead she muttered an _alohomora _and pushed the bedroom door open.

George didn't look up as she entered; he was busy twirling an old firecracker between his fingers. There was a box of them in his lap and Daria instantly recognized them as Fred's homemade brand. George must have found them under Fred's old bed, or in the back of their closet. They must have been the cause for his reclusion. In her letter, Mrs. Weasley said that he hadn't come down for breakfast or lunch that day.

Daria suddenly remembered the ball of snow in her hand and shrugged, deciding that it couldn't hurt, as she threw the ball straight at his forehead.

"Bloody hell!" he jumped up, dropping the fireworks onto the floor, as he tried to brush the show off his face.

Daria sniggered and smiled broadly as he finally looked up at her, not even realizing she had even been there.

"How old are you?" He shot her a glare and she continued chuckling.

"Almost as old as you. At least, maturity wise," she grinned, before cleaning up the mess of firecrackers on the floor with a wave of her hand and taking a seat on his bed.

"Looks like someone has been practicing," George gave her an impressed look as he sat down beside her and took back the box.

Daria shrugged. "It's required for my profession. Incase I'm even unarmed and find myself in trouble."

"I hate your profession," he grumbled as he started twirling one of the firecrackers between his fingers again. "It's not dangerous enough of that you're an auror? No! You have to be an auror acting as a prostitute."

"It's effective," Daria stated, pointedly. "I get twice as many death eaters in a month than Ron does."

"Well that's not saying too much," George smirked, "I'm surprised Ron can even tie his own shoes."

Daria snorted. "He has Hermione help."

The both broke out into a fit of laughter at Ron's expense, before George abruptly stopped and changed the subject. Daria always suspected that he felt guilty having too much fun without Fred.

"I figured out how to do it," George stated flatly, still playing with the firework.

"Figured what out?" Daria encouraged.

She watched as George wordless placed the wick between his index finger and thumb before he tossed it into the air. The firecracker proceeded to explode into a shower of blue sparks.

"You have to be angry or upset, at least to some degree," he explained blankly.

"Yeah," Daria nodded, "You do."

_That's why Fred could never do it_, she bit back, knowing it would upset him more. She had never tried to explain the key to setting things on fire to the twins because she didn't want them to try to get upset.

"That's how I first found out a could do it," she furthered, "My mother had done something to make me absolutely furious at her and I nearly burned the whole bloody house done."

George tried to give her a smile but ended up settling on a nod.

"Is it always blue?" Daria asked, trying to get him to talk some more.

To answer her question, he lit another one. It also erupted in blue sparks. "Maybe it's dependant upon your mood."

"I don't think so, mate," Daria shook her head as she stole one of the firecrackers from the box and set it off. It was red, as usual. "I think if that was the case, both of ours would be blue."

"What do you think it is then?" he furrowed his eyebrows as he studied his shoes.

"I think it might be like a patronus. You know how they are all different? Maybe it's the same with wandless fire and fireworks. Maybe the color is different for different people," Daria suggested. She'd had plenty of time to theorize over the years about why the fire affected firecrackers the way it did. The only other person she had ever met who could do it was her fellow pyromaniac, Seamus Finnigan. She'd never felt the need to try out the firecracker experiment with him though, since she merely tolerated him for the sake of the cause.

"Maybe," George agreed with a nod.

"We could start calling you Blue now," Daria suggested with a playful smile.

George shot her a glare. "You don't call me Blue and I won't call you Red."

Daria felt her face fall. "Deal," she nodded before they went back to silence.

George had never called her Red. That was specifically a Fred thing, and she should have thought about that before she spoke. George had always said that her name was too pretty for her to go by a nickname. He knew that she wouldn't like it if anyone called her Red now because it was too painful to hear.

"We should really get you out of this room," Daria clicked her tongue, "Have you been to the joke shop recently?"

George shook his head. "No. It's creepy now that it's all boarded up."

Daria nodded her head in agreement. "Most of muggle London is pretty safe. We could always go there and do fun stuff. Maybe check out the muggle forms of tomfoolery and get some food. What do you say? I have tomorrow off from work."

George furrowed his eyebrows and studied her for a moment, unsure if he really wanted to leave the house or if he just wanted to stay in bed for the rest of his life.

"Ok," he nodded in reassignment, "That might be fun."

"Of course it will be fun," she grinned, "I'll be there."

He chuckled and shook his head at her.

"Speaking of food," Daria started as she hopped off the bed, "Your mom said she was making stuffing, so I'm going to go get me some of that. Would you care to join me?"

"I guess," he sighed dramatically as he stood up and followed her down the stairs.

* * *

**A/N: I would like to take this moment to remind everyone that Daria does not know that George is in love with her. The only person he ever told was Fred and he didn't tell anyone. I'll let you in on what is going on with Draco in a few chapters but for now you'll just have to wonder.**

**I don't have any of the next chapter written so it might take a little while seeing as I don't even have it all mapped out yet. It may be very, very eventful or it may be, for the most part, filler. We shall see.**

**Leave me some reviews about how you feel about the shift and what you thought of the chapter ;)**


	71. The one with scotch on the rocks

******Listen to: 'Exit Wounds' by The Script**

******And it hurts so bad that I search my skin for the entry point where love went in.**

* * *

"Wake up."

Daria groaned and pried her eyes open to glare at the Weasley at the foot of her bed. "You better have brought me breakfast in bed."

"Uh... no," Ron shook his head.

"They why the hell are you waking me up?" she grumbled as she rubbed her eyes. "Today is my day off."

"I need help with an apprehension."

"Of course you do," Daria sighed, "Go ask your sister or brother-in-law. I am disinclined to acquiesce to your request. I don't wake up for three more hours and then I have a date."

"A date?" Ron questioned, furrowing his eyebrows, "With who? Do I need to go threaten the bloke?"

Daria snorted. "Chill. It's not actually a date—poor choice of words. I'm just taking George to the muggle world for some food and fun."

"That sounds like a date to me," Ron argued, "I don't think George has left mom and dad's house for over a year."

"He has," Daria stated, "He's gone to the old joke shop with me a few times."

Ron scratched his chin. "You could always wake up now and help me with my apprehension, then get back here in plenty of time for your date."

Daria frowned. "I told you, it's not a date. Who are you going after anyway?"

"Vincent Crabbe."

"And you need help?" Daria raised her eyebrows, "He's not exactly a criminal mastermind."

"He's proving to be... difficult to catch. He's never alone. He's always playing bodyguard to the bigger fish. I need a distraction," Ron explained.

"And that's where I come in?" Daria frowned, "What exactly do you want me to do?"

Ron looked away sheepishly. "Well I was thinking that you could put on your whore ensemble and distract the guys he's guarding so I can pull him aside."

"We're called escorts nowadays. Like flight attendants. It's politically correct," Daria replied.

"Whatever," Ron rolled his eyes. "You'd have to go undisguised because I doubt they'd be distracted by just a common prostitute."

"I love how many advances woman have made over the years," Daria sighed, "You don't want me to come along because I'm a kick-ass auror. You just want me to come so I can let some death eaters oogle me in my scantly clad outfit."

"Basically," Ron grinned. "Come on. I'll give you a fourth of my reward money."

"Half."

"A third."

"Fine," Daria pouted as she climbed out of bed. "I also require some coffee with fire whiskey."

"Mixing poisons now?" Ron raised an eyebrow as he opened her door to leave so she could change.

"I just happen to enjoy drinking battery acid," Daria replied pointedly, "And I need a kick if I'm going to be dealing with death eaters, while dressed as a hooker, three hours before I was supposed to wake up, on my day off."

"You're called escorts now, remember?" Ron grinned, before closing the door behind him just in time to avoid getting hit by the book Daria threw at him.

* * *

"There they are," Ron whispered.

Daria glanced over the dumpster they were hiding behind and her heart leapt into her mouth when she saw whom Crabbe was playing lacky to today.

"It's now or never," Ron stated and he nudged her to try to get her to move out from behind their shelter, "Give 'em hell."

Daria nodded once, her mouth still agape, as she sauntered toward the group of death eaters at the end of the alley.

She took a few deep, composing breaths as she walked, to try to steady her racing heart, before pulling on a debonair smile and lengthening her strides.

"Hey boys," she grinned as she stepped into Theodore Nott and Blaise Zabini's path. "Imagine seeing you here in Knockturn Alley. I thought only the respectable wizards did dealings in these parts."

Daria watched as Blaise's jaw nearly hit the cobblestone street and as Nott's mouth spread into an amused smirk.

"I knew it!" Nott barked, as he clutched his side and started laughing at her expense.

_If only he knew that Ron is sneaking up behind them as we speak. I wonder if it'd be possible to catch all three of them._

"Glad to see you're expanding your horizons, cause I'd love to take a ride," Nott continued laughing.

"I'd be careful, Theo," Crabbe spoke up and Daria was surprised that Ron was able to duck out of sight before the other two men turned toward their crony. "That's Potter's friend. It could be a trap."

Daria wondered if Crabbe had magically grown a brain since leaving Hogwarts.

"Apparently not anymore," Theo smirked, as he turned back around to look her over, "Or she wouldn't be out here walking the streets."

"Harry and I have gone our separate ways," she shrugged, "He's not doing a very good job with winning this war, so I decided to venture out on my own, broaden my horizon of friends."

"Don't worry," Theo grinned, "We'll be your friends. Won't be Blaise?"

Daria and Theo both turned to Blaise, who was studying her unsurely. He knew that something was amiss.

"What about you, Crabbe?" Theo glanced over his shoulder and froze when he realized Crabbe was missing.

_That's my cue._

Daria turned to dash into a nearby alleyway, but Nott noticed and grabbed a hold of her arm. "Not so fast, mudblood. I thought we were friends," he smirked as he pulled out his wand.

"Expelliarmus!"

Nott's wand flew out of his hand and both men turned around as Ron shot a _stupefy_ in their direction.

Theo released Daria's arm so he could throw himself on the ground, avoiding the spell.

_Damn it, Ron!_

Daria leap to the other direction, bumping into Blaise and narrowly avoiding the spell herself. Blaise caught her shoulders to prevent her from falling down.

As soon as he had steadied her, he pushed her forward, toward Ron. "Run!" he ordered.

Daria didn't question his motives as she hurried toward her escape route, intentionally crushing Theo's hand under her pumps as she ran. His scream was short lived though, because a second later, Blaise grabbed a hold of his friend and disapparated.

"Let's get out of here. Surely someone heard that," Daria panted as she ran past Ron to the dumpster he had hid the unconscious Crabbe behind.

"But they got away," Ron huffed as he followed her.

"Who cares? We got who we wanted," Daria argued.

"Yeah," Ron shrugged, "But wouldn't it have been nice to go strolling into headquarters with Nott and Zabini? Hell, that would have been almost as good as capturing Malfoy."

_Did he completely miss Blaise helping me out back there?_

"There are no current crimes on Malfoy or Zabini's records though," Daria stated, trying to sound casual.

"So!" Ron exclaimed, "Just because they don't have blood on their hands doesn't mean that they aren't responsible for the blood being shed. Everyone knows that Malfoy is givin' the orders over there. And it doesn't take a genius to realize that Zabini is high up on the totem pole with Nott."

"Yeah, I guess," Daria shrugged. She knew that her friends only saw what they wanted to see and nothing could convince them otherwise. Draco held the title 'dark lord' so he was the obvious bad guy. End of story. But Daria wasn't satisfied with that.

"Come on. Let's get this moron locked up before he wakes up," Ron stated, grabbing a hold of Crabbe's arm.

Daria nodded in agreement and grabbed onto Ron's other hand before he apparated them back to headquarters.

* * *

"Hey George..."

"Yeah?"

"Most muggles aren't accustomed to seeing snow indoors."

"Whoops. Sorry," George smiled sheepishly as the snow that had been falling onto his shoulders ceased. "I didn't even realize I was doing it."

Daria frowned as she studied her friend. The day trip to muggle London hadn't seemed to cheer him up at all and they were currently sitting at the bar of a poorly lit pub.

"Can we get a couple scotches on the rocks over here?" Daria asked the bartender before turning back to George. "Alcohol always makes me feel better," she smiled.

"What's scotch and why do I want to drink it on gravel?" George questioned.

"On the rocks just means that they put ice in it," she reassured, "And its kind of like fire whiskey except its not as spicy and instead of giving you courage, it makes you do stupid things."

"Sounds interesting," George replied as he examined the glass that the bartender had just given him. "I wonder if it's combustible."

"Oh yes," Daria grinned, "Highly."

"I wonder what would happen if you caught fire while drunk. Would you explode from the alcohol in your blood stream?" George pondered as he took a drink of his scotch.

Daria furrowed her eyebrows. "That is an excellent question. We should test that theory. Strictly for educational purposes, of course."

"Of course," George agreed.

"We could use Seamus as a guinea pig," Daria added with a grin.

George burst out laughing and had to stop his drink from coming out of his nose. "Poor bloke. What did he ever do to you?"

"Oh, so many things," Daria rolled her eyes before motioning to the bartender for refills. "He always tried to get my friends to ask me out for him at school and he's always hitting on me at headquarters."

"Merlin forbid a guy likes you," George chuckled. "I'd hate to see what would happen if he tried to make a move."

"I'd castrate him," Daria shrugged nonchalantly, making George nearly fall over from laughter and reaching down to guard himself. "He doesn't actually like me though. He just likes the idea of being with me because I like to make things go 'boom'."

"Can you blame him?" George smiled, "What kind of man doesn't love a woman that enjoys setting things on fire and blowing them up. That's right up there with a nice rack."

"Naturally," Daria nodded.

"So how are things down at headquarters anyways? Is everyone doing alright?" George asked.

"Things have been miserable back at headquarters," Daria sighed. "Everyone is just falling all over themselves in love. First Harry and Ginny got married, then Ron and Hermione got engaged, and then there's Neville and Luna-ugh. They remind me way too much of that muggle movie, Snow White. I expect them to break into song with woodland creatures at any moment."

"One song, I have but one song," George started singing with a hand over his heart.

Daria snorted and pushed him off of his stool.

"Hey!"

"I see you've been watching the movies I lent you," she chuckled as he climbed back onto his chair.

"Yeah, well... I've got nothing better to do," he shrugged.

"You could come live with me in our underground lair and be a kickass crime fighter with a hero complex," Daria offered.

"I don't think so," George shook his head as he frowned into his glass.

Daria frowned in return. She didn't like how introverted he had become lately. She had finally gotten him to come out of his shell for her, but he still hid from the rest of the world.

"One song, only for you," Daria sang quietly, earning her a surprised look followed by a smile from George.

"One heart, tenderly beating," George sang quite loudly.

"Ever entreating, constant and true!" they both sang and bust out into laughter when the entire pub stopped to stare at them.

George wiped a few tears from his eyes from laughing so hard. "I haven't had this much fun in years," he grinned affectionately at her.

"Yeah, me either," Daria smiled back, but felt her heart thump heavily in her chest when Draco suddenly came to her mind. She missed him so much.

If she closed her eyes, she could still see his pale blue eyes. She could see the way the sun reflected against his platinum hair and pale skin. She could feel his warm touch against her skin. She could feel his soft lips moving with hers.

Daria jumped out of her thought about those haunting icy blue eyes when she realized that the soft lips she could feel were George's.

She quickly yanked her head back, breaking the kiss, her eyes wide. She didn't have time to see the hurt expression in his eyes, as she instantly disapparated in the middle of the muggle pub without even thinking.

* * *

Daria slammed her bedroom door, turned on her ipod with a wave of her hand, and crumpled to the cold, stone floor.

She felt the tears start to slip past her eyelashes as 'Set Fire to the Third Bar' by Snow Patrol started playing.

What had she done? She had kissed another man. Her dead ex-boyfriend's twin to be exact. That had to be wrong on so many levels. Right?

Then why had she liked it? There had been that spark, the same spark as the first time she had kissed Fred. The same spark she felt every time she kissed Draco.

She had felt that familiar tingle run down her spin when George's lips brushed against hers. It reminded her of kissing a very similar redhead. And that, she didn't like.

George may look like Fred, and act like him at times, but he wasn't Fred.

Fred was dead and it would not honor his memory to go snogging his look alike. And even if he was still alive, Daria was in love with the dark lord. Hell, she was engaged to that arrogant, blond prat.

That prat that had abandoned her and locked her in a closet, leaving her for well over a year. She would give anything just to be able to see him again, to know that he was okay, and perhaps yell at him a little bit for preventing her from fighting in the Battle of Hogwarts... And for, you know, becoming the bloody dark lord and all.

Would the next and only time she would see him again be when he murdered her?

Daria wrapped her arms tightly around her knees and felt a new wave of tears rush over her.

Happily ever after was a lie. Someday would never come.

* * *

**A/N: What did you think? I tossed a few different ideas around for this chapter but this is what I ended up with. Sorry if it was too melodramatic for your tastes, but I just love drama (again this story is romance/angst for a reason). The next chapter will be very exciting and I already have part of it written so it should be up faster than this one was.**

**Thanks to everyone that reviewed the last chapter. I had quite a few new readers review too and that is just awesome XD Leave me some more and the next update will come soon.**


	72. The one with the paperwork

**Listen to: 'Hurricane' by 30 Seconds To Mars **

**No matter how many death that I die I will never forget. ****No matter how many lives that I live I will never regret.**

* * *

Daria yawned loudly as she flipped through some paperwork at her desk. They had a location on Montague but there was so much red tape. He was not directly connected to any recorded crimes so they had to try to find something that he had done illegally.

She glanced up when she heard a set of footsteps coming her way and smiled up at Harry as he came to a stop in front of her desk. "Morning Harry."

"Daria, you do realize it's noon, right?" Harry frowned as he glanced at his watch.

"Morning is a relative term," she shrugged as she went back to organizing a few scrolls. "What'd you need?"

"We're going out of town for a few days," he stated seriously.

"Let me guess, I'm not coming," Daria frowned.

"No."

"Course not. You three always have all the fun," she sighed.

"We need you to stay here and help keep guard," Harry replied simply.

"That's not my job," Daria argued.

"I know, but Neville and Luna are going on a holiday to some beach," Harry explained.

"Cause now is the perfect time for a vacation," Daria rolled her eyes. "We're not in the middle of a bloody war or anything. Why can't Ginny do it?"

"She's coming with me, Ron, and Hermione," he answered.

Daria shot him a glare. "I see how it is. I've just been one of your best friends for eight bloody years. What am I? Chopped dragon liver? Is this cause she puts out?"

"Michael and Seamus will be here to help you out." Harry stated, ignoring her question.

"Oh goodie," Daria sighed sarcastically. "Where are you guys going anyway?"

"We received a tip that Malfoy has been spotted in Germany," Harry replied.

"Cause those anonymous tips always pan out and all."

"Well it's worth a shot," Harry shrugged. "We should be back in a few days."

"Have fun," Daria rolled her eyes. "I'll just be here doing all the work."

* * *

Daria glanced over at the fireplace next to her desk. She should probably floo George since she had run away like a nutter last night.

She had overreacted. She knew that. She had been under the influence and panicked. But she had never dreamed that George would kiss her!

Okay, so maybe she had, but one can't control what one imagines while unconscious.

"Hey Daria," Luna chirped as she hopped onto Daria's desk.

"Hey," Daria half-smiled back. "What's up?"

"Neville and I were about to head out and I wanted to tell you goodbye," Luna stated but frowned as she observed Daria's expression. "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing," Daria bit her lip as she looked away.

"It looks like your head is filled with wrackspurts. What's going on?" Luna pressed.

Daria glanced around the room to make sure no one was in earshot before she sighed. "George kissed me last night. It was totally unexpected."

"Really?" Luna furrowed her eyebrows. "You didn't expect it at all?"

"No..." Daria frowned. "Why?"

Luna shrugged. "I just thought it was obvious that George is in love with you."

"What?!" Daria exclaimed, nearly falling out of her chair. "What makes you think that?"

"I figured it out the day he and Fred showed up to our first DA meeting last year. I could see it in his eyes when you and Fred tackled each other. He's mad about you," Luna replied dreamily.

"That's crazy," Daria shook her head, "George doesn't have feelings for me. We were both pretty tipsy and it was completely unplanned."

"He could have fooled me," Luna went to roll her eyes but got distracted by a crack on the ceiling while they were up there.

"Well it doesn't matter anyways," Daria retorted, "I'm seeing someone."

"Technically you're not. You haven't 'seen' Draco in over a year. I think that's long enough to declare the relationship legally dead," Luna replied as she stared off at something in the distance.

Daria didn't reply and instead started fiddling with Draco's transfigured class ring.

"You know, you were the one who insisted I give Neville a chance. I think it's about time I returned the favor," Luna smiled. "Death eaters are terrible for your health."

"I don't want to settle," Daria muttered as she continued to stare at the ring.

Luna frowned. "Sometimes that's the only way to be happy. I've watched you drink yourself into a stupor and George turn into a recluse. I think it's about time you two started helping each other pick up all the pieces of your lives."

Daria remained silent.

"He's not coming back. You know that, right?" Luna sighed.

"Didn't you used to be optimistic?" Daria chuckled humorlessly.

"War changes people," Luna stated solemnly. "And unlike you, the man I love didn't leave me with a ring and a bunch of empty promises."

"I saw him the other day," Daria muttered.

"Who?" Luna furrowed her eyebrows, "Draco?"

"Blaise," Daria corrected. "He helped me out of what could have been a very ugly duel."

"Hmm," Luna nodded absently, before standing up. "You should floo George."

Daria watched as Luna left the office before she sighed and turned toward the fireplace.

Luna was right, as usual. Draco wasn't coming back and if he did, it would only be to kill her. She should give George a chance. Merlin knew she needed a distraction. Maybe George could be her Neville.

Daria jumped slightly as the flames turned green without provocation from her and watched as George's head appeared.

"George?"

"Hey, Daria," he smiled unsurely, "I was hoping you'd be at your desk."

"Yeah, I'm up to my ears in paperwork," Daria sighed. "You have impeccable timing by the way. I was just about to floo you."

"Really?"

Daria didn't miss the way George's face lit up and felt her heart clench painfully. Luna was right. How could she have possibly missed that? How long had that been going on? Had she been so caught up with Fred and Draco that she had failed to see George?

"Yeah, really," Daria smiled back. "I wanted to apologize about last night. I startle easily when I'm under the influence."

"Oh don't worry about it," George shrugged, trying to sound casual. "I'd panic too if I opened my eyes to find me right there. It's my fault really. I don't know what I was thinking."

"You don't need to apologize," Daria reassured. "I was hoping we could meet up later so we could talk about some stuff. I'm not supposed to leave headquarters though. So could you come here?"

"Sure," he nodded, "I'm about to help mom de-gnome the garden but I should be done in a few hours and I'll come by."

"Okay. See you then," Daria smiled.

"Can't wait," George grinned before his head disappeared and the flames went back to normal.

Daria leaned back into her chair and sighed. Was she really going to do this? She didn't know

* * *

Daria grabbed her apple off of her desk and glanced around the room as she took a bite. She was buried under a mountain of paperwork at her desk and the only two occupants of the room were Seamus Finnigan and Michael corner, at their respective desks.

_Maybe I should go to Diagon Alley_, Daria thought as she glared at the stacks of deskwork surrounding her. Harry had specifically told all of them to stay put and not leave headquarters, but this kind of stuff wasn't in her job description. She'd much rather be battling an army of death eaters.

_Or maybe I'll just get rip roaring drunk. I'm sure I could find Ron's hidden fire whiskey stash if I look hard enough._

She took another bite of her apple as she contemplated where he could have hidden it where Hermione wouldn't find it.

_Maybe I'll get drunk and go to Diagon Alley. I'm sure that would be a bucket of fun_.

"What are you thinking about?"

Daria was broken out of her thoughts of escape by Seamus's condescending voice.

"Nothing..." she replied innocently, before biting off another piece of apple.

"Well whatever it is, don't do it," he stated critically. "It's probably a terrible idea. Most of yours usually are. You don't need to get anyone killed today."

"Leave her alone, Finnigan," Corner snapped, shooting a glare at Seamus. Daria gave him a grateful smile. Michael had been known to help her out of sticky situations before. He worked undercover as a bartender at the bar she used to pick up death eaters.

"Oh, shut up, Corner," Seamus rolled his eyes.

Michael opened his mouth to argue, but Daria interrupted him, not wanting to break up a fight against two of the only remaining aurors. "Hey Seamus. What happens when you light a firecracker?"

"What?" he furrowed his eyebrows and looked at her like she had gone mad.

"Light this," Daria ordered before tossing a firecracker into the air.

Seamus nearly let it hit the floor out of confusion before he pulled out his wand and lit it, causing it to explode into a rainbow of sparks.

"Not with your wand, stupid, with your fingers," Daria rolled her eyes. "Are you ever not completely useless?"

Seamus glared at her. "I couldn't light it from that far away. I have to be able to touch it."

"Some pyromaniac you are," Daria scoffed as she tossed another firecracker at him. "Light it. With your hand this time."

Seamus shook his head in annoyance and mumbled something that sounded like 'this is ridiculous', before placing the wick between his fingers and lighting it.

Daria watched him expectantly for a moment. "Throw it, stupid!"

Seamus jumped slightly before tossing the firecracker onto the ground right before it erupted into a shower green sparks.

They both watched it fizzle out before Seamus turned back to her. "This is stupid and I'm tired of being insulted. I'm out of here."

"We're not supposed to leave," Michael reminded, not looking up from his scroll.

"Yeah? And what are you going to do? Tell on me?" Seamus rolled his eyes as he grabbed his cloak. "Don't wait up."

Daria shook her head in disbelief as she watched the door close behind him. "He'd better not get himself killed on our watch."

"He's a big boy. If he gets killed it will be on his own watch," Michael shrugged before putting his quill down and standing up. "I'm gonna go do my rounds downstairs. I'll be back up in a bit."

Daria nodded absently in reply as she went back to thumbing through Montague's file.

* * *

**Thump!**

Daria furrowed her eyebrows and looked up from her parchment.

_What the hell was that?_

**Thump!**

Daria set down her quill and stood up, wand at the ready.

**Thump!**

"Michael?" she called toward the entrance to the dungeons.

**Thump!**

Her head shot to the other direction. The noise wasn't coming from the dungeons.

**Thump!**

She glanced around the office again to make sure nothing was amiss before heading down a hallway.

As she walked toward the noise it turned from thumps to booms. She could feel the adrenaline pumping through her veins as she neared the main entrance, which they kept closed off.

**Boom!**

She jumped as the watched the large doors buckle under the pressure of what had to have been a spell.

"Bombarda," she heard a muffled voice from the other side of the door chant, causing another boom.

Daria's heart froze in her chest. The Death Eaters had founds headquarters.

She had only a few seconds to decide on a strategy. She could sound the alarm and call every Order member in area to her aid, or she could try to fight them off alone.

Her fingers twitched as she went to lift her wand to call for help, but then they froze. She would not survive this battle. She knew it.

In her vision, she had been surrendering and no other Order member were there. So they had either all been killed or had not been present. She couldn't let anyone die to try to prevent her fate. She knew what she had to do.

"Move over ya stupid git," she heard another muffled voice bark. "Bombarda Maxima!"

Daria flew backwards from the force of the spell and fell into her rump a few feet away.

She scurried to get back onto her feet and brandish her wand just as the death eaters appeared from the smoke of the rubble.

"There she is! Get her!" one of them ordered to his fellow masked assassins. Soon Daria was faced with a small battalion of death eaters, but not as many as she had anticipated. There were probably around fifteen or twenty.

"Stupefy!" Daria shot at one of the death eaters and ducked as a few spells whipped past her head.

She quickly started retreating toward the office where she could better barricade herself as she dodged and blocked more spells, taking out a few death eaters on the way.

Daria quickly realized that the death eaters she was fighting were very poorly trained because after about a dozen stupefies she had half of them knocked out and was starting to gain a false since of security. Maybe she could take them all out and live to tell the tale.

It was about at that moment that a well-aimed expelliarmus robbed her of her wand.

"Shit," she hissed as she took in the sight of the death eaters starting to surround her.

"Crucio!" one of the masked figures shot.

Daria ducked, narrowly avoiding the painful spell, when an idea came to mind. With a little bit of concentration she was able to fill her hands with fire before slashing it, like a wipe, at the death eaters around her. Harry would not have approved of her killing them, but she didn't really care at this point, as she continued to burn the death eaters around her at alarming rates.

Finally the last death eater fell and she smiled victoriously as she extinguished her hands. That had been surprisingly simple. Wait until her friends heard that she had defeated a group of death eaters single handedly without a wand. She deserved like a metal or something for this.

"On your knees."

Daria felt all the blood rush from her face as she felt the cold tip of a wand against her carotid artery.

She immediately dropped to her knees in surrender and watched as the death eater moved to the front of her and pulled off his mask and hood, but she already knew who he was.

How had she missed him? She was sure the room had been empty of conscious death eaters just a second ago.

She glanced behind her and saw two more death eaters standing near the entrance to the office who hadn't been there before.

_They must have removed the anti-apparation spell. The rookies were just a distraction._ Daria mentally cursed her lack of forethought as she stared up at the man in front of her, with his wand pointed at her throat.

He looked very ill. His skin was a sickly pale and both of his eyes looked blackened. His usually well-kept hair was a tangled, limp mess, and his eyes were a cold, emotionless grey. What had happened to her beloved in his absence? This was not the look of a Dark Lord, but the look of a broken, brainwashed man. Was he under the imperious curse like she had always suspected?

She felt a tear slip down her cheek, which his dead eyes immediately shot to.

"Hurry it up, Malfoy. We need to get out of here," one of the masked men behind her grumbled, but Draco didn't even glance his way.

Instead he leaded forward, his wand still at her throat, until he lips were next to her ear, his hot breath hitting her goose bumped skin.

"I thought you trusted me," he whispered. She could hear the smugness in his voice, even though his signature smirk was missing, before he straightened back up.

He raised his wand to between her eyes and she instinctively shut them, preparing for the curse that would end her life.

"Avada Kedavra!"

* * *

**A/N: What the hell?! I know right! You've waited all this time and still don't know what happens?! *dodges things that the readers throw* Don't worry, you will soon, I promise ;)**

**Next chapter we're going to find out what Draco has been up too recently and hear things from his perspective. It's already partially written too so it should be up fairly quickly.**

**On another note... I only got 4 reviews last chapter =/ Hopefully this one is a little bit more life changing. Leave me a review if you liked it.**


	73. The one with the grim reaper

**Listen to: 'Pain' by Three Days Grace**

**Trust me and take my hand; when** **the lights go out you'll understand.**

* * *

"Morning, love."

Draco pried his eyes open and was greeted by a pair of large, crazed brown ones leering over him.

"Ahhh!" he yelled as he fell out of bed and landed in a puddle of sheets on the ground. "How the hell did you get in here?" he frowned up at her, "That door was covered in enchantments, far beyond your magical ability."

"It wasn't that hard," Pansy rolled her eyes as she stood up and straightened her clothes out.

Draco scowled as he stood up and went over to his dresser, grabbing a shirt and pulling it on. "Get out."

"You used to be fun," she pouted. "Don't you remember when we used to torment people together then go shag in a broom closet? What happened to that Draco? I liked him."

Draco sighed as he adjusted the cuffs of his shirt. "He died. Now don't make me tell you again. Get out."

"No," Pansy shot defiantly, crossing her arms.

Draco tightly clenched his fists. He had been taught to never physically lash out at a woman... but did Pansy really count?

"Fine," he drawled behind gritted teeth, "I'll go then."

He quickly strode over to his door and left, slamming it closed behind him.

Draco stormed down the hallway, seething. Maybe he could just throw Pansy in the dungeon for a few days. It probably would just piss her off, but it sure would make him feel better.

When Draco arrived at the dining room, his mood got even worse. Why the hell were there so many nameless death eaters eating breakfast at 8 am? Didn't they have better things to do? Like, you know, kill mudbloods or something?

"Everyone get out," he hissed venomously and watched as they all quickly jumped out of their seats, knocking a few over, before scurrying away.

He waited until they had all vacated the area, before he motioned for the house elves to clean up the mess they had made, and took a seat next to his mother.

"Good morning my love," she beamed as she blotted her lips with a napkin, "Did you sleep well?"

"As well as can be expected in this madhouse," he muttered as he picked up his fork to start on his eggs.

"Draco, darling, you look awfully pale. Have you considered going outside once in a while?" she chirped in her usually mothering tone.

"The grounds have the atmosphere of a cemetery. I'd prefer just to stay in my room. At least I know the grim reaper isn't waiting on my bed," he grumbled as he glared down at his breakfast.

"Speaking of the grim reaper, your father would like to have a word with you," Narcissa stated.

"Oh goodie. I wonder what perilous task Mister Serial Killer has in store for me today," Draco drawled as he stabbed his eggs with vicious intent.

"Oh hush. Your father is doing everything he can to protect this family," Narcissa scolded.

"Father is doing everything he can to promote his own agenda. Don't try to idolatrize him," Draco rolled his eyes, before pushing his chair back and standing up. "I'll go see what his highness wants."

"Draco you need to eat something," Narcissa frowned at Draco's still full plate.

"I'm not hungry," he mumbled as he stormed off toward his father's study.

* * *

"Ah, Draco. It's about time you showed up. I was just about to send Theodore here to retrieve you," Lucius grinned greasily as his heir entered the study.

Draco shot a glance at Theo, who was standing against the wall at his father's right side, acting as a bodyguard.

"Didn't your mother and I teach you not to lurk in doorways?" Lucius sneered, "Take a seat, boy."

Draco nodded respectfully and sat down across the desk from his father. "Mother said you wanted to talk to me."

"Yes," Lucius smiled, "I have a job for you."

"You mean a suicide mission?" Draco scowled.

"Watch your tongue, boy," Lucius snapped. "I have a very important task for you."

Draco resisted the urge to roll his eyes as he continued to glare at his father.

"We've managed to lure Potter and his crew out from their secret lair, but they just so happened to leave a very important auror behind. I need you to take her out for me. She's been quite the little nuisance capturing up all our death eaters," Lucius stated, frustration apparent in his voice.

Draco hid his smirk by reaching up to scratch his chin. His father didn't have to explain any further for Draco to instantly know that the auror in question was his witch.

_So Daria has been giving them hell? Good._

"It's that annoying little redhead," Theo interjected, also sounding perturbed. "Blaise and I ran into her yesterday. She was posing as a hooker while Weasley kidnapped Vincent."

Draco tried not to look shocked at that information. He noticed that Theo was absently rubbing a bandaged hand.

"And it is simply astonishing that two of my most promising death eaters were able to be fooled by a common prostitute!" Lucius barked and looked like he was contemplating beating Theo with his walking stick.

"We were just thrown off guard. We didn't expect to see someone like her walking the streets," Theo explained.

"Perhaps that should have been your first hint that she was up to something!" Lucius snapped.

Draco sighed loudly. "Why am I even here?"

"I've already told you, a need you to kill that meddling girl," Lucius retorted.

"Yes, I got that part," Draco scowled in annoyance. "I mean why am I _here_. You seem to be doing a bang up job of leading everyone all by yourself. Surely you don't still need me around."

"Don't you take that tone with me," Lucius hissed. "If you recall, the only reason I had to take over was because you proved to be more than inadequate at being a dark lord."

"And so, again, why am I here?" Draco drawled.

"I need a well liked example for the troops to look up to," Lucius replied simply.

"Translation: you need a figure head to distract the Order from you," Draco snapped.

Lucius shrugged uncaringly as he busied himself with thumbing through some papers on his desk. "Call it what you want, but as long as everyone still thinks you are in charge, I can safely run this operation without a hitch."

Lucius found the parchment he was looking for and reached it over the table to his son. Draco grabbed it and looked it over. It contained all of Daria's basic information as well as a photograph that he assumed had been taken during their days at Hogwarts.

"When would you like me to leave?" Draco sighed as he looked up from the parchment to his father.

"Immediately," Lucius grinned evilly. "I already have a group of freshly trained death eater prepared for you."

_Meaning I'll have a few bodies to throw at her before she incapacitates me._

"Theodore and Travers will be accompanying you as well, to make sure you do an adequate job," Lucius added and motioned for Theo to leave, probably to go collect Travers.

"Very well, Father," Draco nodded as stood up to leave.

"And Draco," Lucius drawled with a frown, "Don't disappoint me this time."

Draco nodded again before striding out of his father's study to go find his group of soon-to-be-dead followers.

* * *

After the battle of Hogwarts, Draco had taken over in Lord Voldemort's place and things had gone rather smoothly there for a few months. But he had been miserable.

He had no desire to kill muggleborns and wanted a way out of the mess he had gotten himself into. So he came up with a plan.

He was going to sell out the death eaters in exchange for his freedom. He would give up being the dark lord, get everyone who would want to kill him for his betrayal thrown in jail, and be on the right side with Daria. But his plan had failed.

Lucius had decided that his son was not qualified to lead the death eaters since he wasn't a blood thirsty murderer. So Lucius secretly overthrew his son and took command of the dark forces.

Of course, as far as most people knew, Draco was still the dark lord and was the primary target of the Order. He acted as a shield for his father. That way, if the order ever managed to kill the dark lord, they'd only be killing a figure head, and Draco was powerless to stop it due to his very rational fear of his father.

* * *

"So what's the plan?" Theo asked as they trekked over what had to have been the largest mountain in Britain.

_Honestly, who puts a secret base inside of a bloody mountain?_

Draco ignored him as they continued trekking. His feet were fucking freezing.

"Do we have a plan?" Theo pressed, sounding unsure. "Or are we just going to run inside and hope they all die of shock?"

Draco growled under his breath and buried his hands in his pockets to try to keep them warm. Death eater clocks were terrible when it came to fighting off freezing winds on the side of a snow covered fucking mountain.

"The rookies are inside, charging the place and serving as a distraction, while Travers takes down the anti-apparation spells. Once he's done, we'll apparent inside, I'll avada her, and then we'll go home and have some hot tea- assuming our fingers aren't frozen off by then," Draco explained.

"That might actually work," Theo gaped.

"You sound surprised," Draco frowned. "Why does no one ever realize how completely brilliant I am?"

Draco and Theo both took in ragged breaths as the marks on their arms began to burn.

"That must be Travers," Draco stated as he pulled on his mask. "Come on."

Draco and Theo both apparated into the Order headquarters outside of the room Daria was in, just as she finished off the last few rookies with a wandless fire spell.

Draco felt his heart jump into his throat. It had been a year and a half since he had last seen her and she still looked just as lovely as ever. Merlin, what he wouldn't give just to pull her into his arms at that very moment and never let her go again. But he had a mission to complete.

Silently, Draco strode forward and aimed his wand at his witch, drawing closer until the tip of his wand was pressed against her neck.

"On your knees," he ordered and watched as she stiffened in fear before obeying.

As Daria knelt to the ground in surrender, Draco moved around to the front of her and removed his hood and mask, so he could see her properly. She looked older and a little worse for wear from the stress of war, but she was still his Daria. His love and his light.

He watched as a tear streamed down her cheek and resisted the urge to reach down and wipe it away.

He hated it when she cried. He should say something reassuring.

Draco leaned forward, despite Traver's orders to hurry up, and brought his lips to her ear. He could smell the lavender shampoo in her hair and it was fucking intoxicating.

"I thought you trusted me," he whispered, before standing back up.

_That might have come out more mocking than reassuring. Oh well._

He raised is wand so it was pointed right between her eyes and she instantly closed them.

He felt the knot in his chest tighten. Did she really have that little faith in him?

He frowned and raised his wand to Travers.

"Avada kedavra."

* * *

**A/N: Omg! You should see my email inbox because it is filled up with reviews. Granted, most of them are you guys freaking out about the cliffhanger but thats ok, I still love them.**

**I really did not plan on getting this chapter finished today but my fingers just ran away with me and I didn't want to leave you guys hanging.**

**Next chapter will take a little longer because its kind of eventful, so be sure to leave me reviews to motivate me to get it written.**


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